The Archeology of Freedom of Information Laws: Egypt and Fake-News Laws

Abstract

The right to information is the public’s right to know through having access to public information held by state institutions. Known as a keystone in transparent, participatory and open democracies, the right to access information is progressively perceived today as an emerging human right on the global level. Although this right is theorized within various contexts, it is important to take into account its framework as a force for socio-economic change for disadvantaged groups. It is critical to understand the instrumental capacity of this right in empowering disadvantaged groups to access state-held information relevant to their socio-economic rights and as an inclusionary tool that is capable of spurring inclusion for persons excluded from the ambit of both public participation and social justice. Suppression of information found on the internet around the globe, including in the Middle East, is not a new phenomenon. Freedom of speech and expression facilitated by the internet can pose a threat to autocratic leaders globally who seek to maintain strict control over both the content their citizens consume and the content they post. It is significant that the advocacy role played by civil society groups in promoting this influential capacity, through their ability to act politically on public information is revealed. While Egypt has lately adopted its constitutional norms on access to information, worries and doubts arise about Egyptian citizens’ genuine ability to access information held by the public institutions. The long culture of bureaucratic secrecy, politico-economic environment, and the legal framework instead inflame exclusionary policies concerning access to public information. Legislation such as the cybercrime law, therefore, is critical to the overall effort to deflect or suppress any criticism, particularly surrounding challenging arenas such as security and the economy. Around the world, the accusation of “fake news” is being used to target dissenters or criticism, including in the United States. This recent Egyptian law should serve as a warning to democracies around the world of the importance of internet freedom and the way in which internet technologies and legal provisions can be warped to abuse, rather than protect, basic rights.