The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) announced it is currently studying the introduction of a new SIM card designed for children, as part of government efforts to regulate children’s use of mobile phones.
The NTRA’s Vice President, Mohamed Ibrahim, said that the authority is working with the four mobile network operators in the Egyptian market to study the availability of this SIM card, aiming to provide safe digital content suitable for young children while simultaneously granting them access to beneficial educational materials.
The goal of this step is to protect children from any harmful content, he said, especially given how increasingly digital the educational process now is.
The Communications and Information Technology Committee of the House of Representatives also held an extensive meeting to hear the opinions of officials and student unions representatives regarding the draft law regulating children’s use of social media platforms, RT reported on Sunday.
During the meeting, NTRA President Mohamed Shamroukh announced that mobile packages specifically designed for children are currently undergoing technical preparation and testing, in anticipation of their commercial launch soon.
Available within 60 days
The Minister of Communications Raafat Hindi confirmed that the new packages will be available within a maximum of 60 days.
The minister added that the law aims to strike a balance between protecting children in a safe digital environment and not infringing on their freedom to use technology.
He pointed out that the most prominent risks the law seeks to address include cyberbullying, exploitation, inappropriate content, and digital addiction.
The parliamentary committee is scheduled to prepare a comprehensive report encompassing all proposals and outcomes presented during the meetings, to be studied in conjunction with the draft law the government will submit in the coming period.
These governmental and parliamentary initiatives began after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi spoke in January about children’s use of social media and its potential negative impacts.
He noted at the time that some countries were moving to establish regulations to limit children’s use of social media platforms.
Sisi ordered for legislation restricting children’s use of mobile phones, and cited the experiences of several countries such as Australia in this regard.
