Egypt works to pull the plug on online porn

Egypt is the latest country to attempt censorship of online pornography. According to Reuters, a public prosecutor pronounced yesterday that all porn Web sites must be blocked.

The government must "take the necessary measures to block any corrupt or corrupting pornographic pictures or scenes inconsistent with the values and traditions of the Egyptian people and the higher interests of the state," prosecutor Abdel Maguid Mahmoud said, according to Reuters.

Apparently, Mahmoud's order was following up on a 2009 court ruling that also deemed porn sites be banned. According to Reuters, Egypt's telecommunications minister, Hany Mahmoud, said that it would be technically tricky to block the sites and that instead the government should work on raising awareness with its citizens.

Egypt isn't the first country to go after porn. In July, Indonesia attempted to block online pornography. At the time, its government said that it successfully shuttered more than 1 million sites. According to Reuters, several other Islamic and Middle Eastern countries also routinely try to block porn sites in their countries.