Visitors to Internet cafés are now required to obtain a slip from the coffee shop with a personal identification number (PIN). That number, along with the user's name, mobile phone number, and e-mail address must be entered online. Individuals cannot access the Internet until they have first received a text message on their mobile phone with this personal data and have verified the information.
The measure appears to be based on an agreement between two companies (Mobinil Mobile Service Co. and Link Telecommunication Company), owned by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, on the one hand, and the state security apparatus, on the other. Both parties may benefit from the measure, which violates people's right to privacy and to freely access information by Internet.