Egypt has blocked hundreds of websites since May 2017, mostly independent news, political and human rights sites, plus VPN and proxy tools, and has long restricted internet calls; in 2026 it also blocked Roblox.
Every day we open 67 of the world’s biggest sites and apps from test machines in Egypt, most of them in data centers, and record what’s blocked, since when and how.
6 of 67 testedsites and apps with a confirmed block in Egypt
67 of 67 results confirmed in the last 48 hours.
Tests are requested on test machines inside Egypt, most of them in data centers. 3 of them on only some networks.
The networks we test in Egypt fail to open these, twice, while they open elsewhere. Data-center machines that get past the filter don’t count against a block the rest see. Most often, the secure connection stalls.
Egypt began blocking websites on 24 May 2017, without publishing any decision, starting with 21 sites, among them Al Jazeera, HuffPost Arabic and the independent outlet Mada Masr, which anonymous security sources accused of supporting terrorism and publishing lies. The campaign targeted independent news, political and human rights sites: by June 2023 rights groups counted 562 blocked websites and links, at least 132 of them news sites.
Two 2018 laws gave blocking a legal footing. The cybercrime law lets investigators order a site blocked if its content is deemed a crime or a threat to national security or the economy, with a court to rule within 72 hours, and lets security agencies have the telecoms regulator, the NTRA, order providers to block at once. The media law requires news sites to be licensed by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, allows blocks for spreading “false news” and covers social media accounts with at least 5,000 followers.
Egyptian providers mainly block sites with deep packet inspection equipment that resets connections, OONI and AFTE researchers found in 2018, when the Tor network and the websites of several circumvention tools were blocked too. Internet calls are restricted separately: international calls over the internet are technically illegal under the 2003 telecoms law, and calls on apps such as WhatsApp have been blocked on and off on mobile networks. A plan announced in late 2024 to lift that ban hadn’t taken effect by May 2025.
New blocks keep coming. Cairo 24 was blocked in November 2024 without explanation, and Zawia3, an independent outlet based in Brussels, in February 2025. Discord was cut off on the WE and Vodafone networks on 11 and 12 January 2026, and on 4 February 2026 Roblox was blocked on the media council’s decision, citing child safety; a court challenge was dismissed on procedural grounds in September 2026.
Are VPNs legal in Egypt?
VPNs sit in a legal grey area in Egypt: its 2003 telecoms law bars telecom companies and their customers from using encryption equipment without written consent from the regulator and security agencies, and hundreds of VPN, proxy and tech websites had been blocked by 2018.
Key dates
The Administrative Court dismisses a challenge to the Roblox block on procedural grounds, without ruling on the block itself.
Roblox is blocked nationwide on the Supreme Council for Media Regulation’s decision, citing child safety.
Discord is cut off on the WE and Vodafone networks for two days; the authorities never explain why.
Zawia3, an independent Egyptian news outlet based in Brussels, is blocked in Egypt; no official reason is given.
Parliament approves a cybercrime law that lets investigators and security agencies order websites blocked.
Egypt blocks 21 websites, including Al Jazeera and Mada Masr, starting a campaign that reached 562 blocked websites and links by June 2023.
Get past a block
Blocked in Egypt?
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History
Changes in Egypt
No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.
Method
How we test
Test machines inside Egypt, most of them in data centers, open each site’s homepage every day.
A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
We test websites, mostly over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
Not always. Calls over WhatsApp and similar apps have been blocked on and off for years on mobile networks, and international internet calls are technically illegal under Egypt’s 2003 telecoms law. The regulator said in late 2024 that it planned to end its long-standing ban on internet calls, but the ban was still in place in May 2025.
Which News Websites Are Blocked in Egypt?
Hundreds have been. The first wave, on 24 May 2017, included Al Jazeera, HuffPost Arabic and Mada Masr, and rights groups counted at least 132 news sites among 562 blocked websites and links by June 2023. Cairo 24 followed in November 2024 and Zawia3 in February 2025, and Al Jazeera’s site still failed most independent tests from Egypt in September and October 2026.
Has Egypt Ever Shut Down the Internet?
Yes. During the January 2011 revolution, Egypt shut down internet and mobile services for five days. There have been local cuts too: in 2018 the army ordered internet and phone services shut down across North Sinai, a closed military zone since 2013, during a military operation, leaving residents unable to call for help.
