General Overview

Although Algeria is an oil producing country its 33 million citizens are suffering in poverty. The average annual income per capita does not exceed 3,000 dollars (1).

Algeria experienced a long period of unrest and political problems which began after the National Salvation Front (NSF) won the Algerian legislative elections in 1992. This provoked the army who were hostile to the result who intervened to freeze the results of the general elections and to prohibit NSF activities by arresting almost all its leaders. Such events led to the outbreak of the civil war which lasted until 2002. The number of the victims of this war ranges between 150 thousand and 200 thousand Algerian citizens, mostly civilians (2).

After President Abdelaziz Bouteflika came to power in 1999 matters started to calm. At the beginning of this era, the telecommunications sector have been modernized and flourished obviously.

The internet is relatively free in Algeria both in comparison to its neighbors and to the other media in the country, which is very heavily controlled by the government. However, the primary reason for this is that the internet does not have much weight in Algerian political life. There is therefore no reason for optimism since when the power of the internet rises it is sure to attract the attentions of the government which has proved so effective at silencing it critics and opposition.

Internet and Telecommunications Sector

The first step in the recovery of the telecommunications sector was the issuance of telecommunication law no. 3/2000. This law was meant to end the monopolization of telecommunications and postal services by the state. It also aimed at separating the activities of organizing and network management and utilization. After the issuance of this law the "Postal and Telecommunications Control Authority" was founded. This is an independent authority which acts as the arbitrator between different authorities (3).

The telecommunications market is dominated by the Algeria Telecom Company http://www.algerietelecom.dz which is the state-owned parent company that provides both and terrestrial telecommunications services in Algeria .

Internet service first became available in Algeria in 1993 via the state-owned CERIST research center. Five years later, Ministerial Decree no. 256/1998 was issued. It partially ended the monopoly of the service provision by the state by allowing private sector companies to provide internet services. The decree included a clause that commercial providers of the internet service must be Algerian. Applications to provide internet services are submitted directly to the Minister of Telecommunication. In 1998, the first private service provider company was founded. By 2000 there were already 18 private companies functioning as service providers (4).

Despite the liberalization of telecommunications sector, internet services and use are still well under the level of other neighbor countries. As of July 2006 there are some 3 million internet users in Algeria and some 700,000 of these are using ADSL services, this number represents a large increase in the number of users in comparison with the available statistics from previous years. Algeria has 18.6 million mobile phones (5).

One of the major obstacles to the widespread use of internet in Algeria is the fact that the service is monopolized by the "Algeria Telecom Company". Despite the vast number of internet providers, all of them work through Algeria Telecom Company. When the price of terrestrial phones services increased dramatically in the years 2003 and 2004, internet dial-up use was negatively affected. Despite the increase in prices, internet speed is slow. As a result, the Algerian Association for Internet Access Financers condemned the monopolization of internet service by Algeria Telecom, as lack of competitiveness has led to the delivery of the service inefficiently despite the increase in price. (6).

Now that Orascom Telecom company and the Egyptian Telecom Company have acquired a license to construct a terrestrial phone lines network in 2005, the monopoly is about to end. Orascom Telecom is also due to launch an ADSL service in cooperation with a Chinese company by the end of 2006 (7). The Algerian government has also decided to privatize the Algeria Telecom Company by selling stocks at an international auction at the end 2006.

In parallel with the increase in internet users in Algeria , the interest in creating weblogs also increased. At the beginning of 2006, The Technological Movement launched "Blogs for All" campaign. The Technological Movement is a group of enthusiastic Algerians who are interested in spreading the blogging culture in Algerian society. The Movement also produced the first Algerian blogging space under the name "DZBlog" (8).

Censorship and Blocking

The internet is relatively free from government interference in Algeria in comparison with its close neighbor Tunisia . However, there are still significant problems; those living in Algeria suffer from the blocking of some critical websites such as political websites.

Despite the lack of central control of browsing the internet in Algeria , legal liability for the posted content is directly placed upon the service providers. Article 14 of Telecommunications Ministerial Decree of 1998 stipulates internet service providers are legal liable for the material and websites they host. The same decree, all necessary measures must be taken to ensure the permanent censorship on the content in order to prevent access to the material "incompatible with morality or the public opinion" (9). The reports of human rights organizations did not monitor any activation of the application of these articles on any cases in Algeria .

Although there are no special laws which cover online posting, gradually internet is being considered as a form of media. For example, the parliamentary amendments to the criminal law in May 2001, which was strongly opposed by journalists, stipulated in article no. 144 (b) an imprisonment period ranging between two months and one year and a fine ranging between 750 and 3750 euros in the case of abuse, insult or defamation of the President of the Republic by writings or paintings or statements given by any audio or video or electronic means or by using the computer (10). If such an infringement is made frequently it can lead to a doubling of the punishment. This law is applicable to any ‘insult' in a publication against the parliament, armed forces, or any public body (11).

In 2004, in the run up to the Algerian presidential elections there were increased restrictions on the traditional media. The government adopted a resolution banning Algerian journalists from working for more than one foreign media office. During the same year, six Algerian newspapers were banned from printing. Suspended imprisonment without stay sentences were awarded to some journalist who were also fined on charges of defaming President of the Republic (12). However, during this time the internet remained free and was not censored. Some media staff considered the internet a means to get around the governmental restrictions imposed on the media (13). Journalists widely believe that their emails are read and censored by the government (14). Some mentioned that their emails are delayed for two or more days, raising doubts of state surveillance of email correspondence. (15).

The freedom enjoyed by the internet in Algeria is exceptional when considered in general political environment in Algeria which heavy restrictions placed on freedom of expression. Perhaps this is due in part to low level of use of the internet and subsequently its weak impact on the Algerian street. At the same time, this does not mean that the government ignores it. This could explain the relative freedom enjoyed by the Internet in the Algeria , leaving us with a question: will this freedom remain when there is an increase in internet users?

Despite the advantages of seeming to avoid excessive government interference when publishing online the Algerian online media is weak and materials are rarely published online.

Nevertheless, there are some websites, such as algeria-interface.com an online newspaper discussing Algerian affairs, that are taking advantage of the area of freedom available via the internet. They provided an online press which, so far, has been able to avoid the government's regulatory prohibitions. Jamil Bin Ramadan one of the officials of algeria-interface.com said that the main reason why this website goes beyond the traditional framework of the Algerian media is because its website is operated from outside Algeria and is not to subject to pressure from the Algerian government. However, the reporters of the website do suffer the same problems experienced by other reporters (16).

There is at least one case where a journalist was arrested because of his online posts. The editor of Expression daily newspaper, Ahmed Fatanias, was arrested on 13 October 2003 for posting online articles during the suspension of the newspaper during the period from 13 to 16 September 2003 following an official decree (17).

Internet Cafés

Many Algerian citizens depend on internet cafés for access to the internet. There are some 5000 internet cafés in Algeria , up from just 100 in 2000 according to the Algerian Minister of Telecommunication (18).

In the period when the internet was first available in Algeria internet cafés were severely restricted in some cities, especially "Bovrik. The police made café managers retain all information on visitors, including their names, addresses, dates of birth, and national ID numbers. These records had to be delivered daily to the police in the same way that hotels have to operate. The Security Council also asked the owners of internet cafes to report any suspicious activity by visitors. After this period, no harassments against internet cafes were reported.

There are no special laws to determine the form of using the internet inside internet cafés.

The Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia issued a decree on 5 June 2005 prohibiting any activity of internet cafes after midnight . Such decisions are usually issued for night clubs and inns (19). The decree was issued without declaring any explanation or reasons.

In addition, the Ministry of Family Affairs called for the enactment of legislation to govern the legal work in internet cafes in order to avoid negative effects on children. It also called for imposing security control on cafés and determining the legal age for entry and imposing harsh penalties on employers who do not abide by cafés law (20).
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1- International Telecommunication Union, Arab Regional Office, Algeria , http://www.ituarabic.org/arab_country_report.asp?arab_country_code=5 (visited on 2 April 2006 )
2-Sherif Mansour , Algeria , the Annual Report of Civil Society and Democratic Reformation In The Arab World, 2004, Ibn Khladon Center publications.
3-Repairing and Developing Telecommunications sector in Algeria , Ministry of Post and Telecommunication, www.itu.org.eg/ArabPreCom/documents/algerienne.doc (visited on 28 September 2006 )
4-Internews , Algeria , www.internews.org/arab_media_research/algeria.pdf (visited on 12 April 2006 )
5-Three million internet users in Algeria , Middle East Online website, http://www.middle-east-online.com/?id=42007 (visited on 24 October 2006 )
6-Kamel Al-Sherazy, Negative impacts of Ouyahia decree …, El-Bilad newspaper, http://www.el-bilad.com/article.php?codear=7103 (visited on 14 September 2006 )
7-Ali Margy, Terrestrial Phone Lines of Orascom next November, El-Bilad newspaper, http://www.el-bilad.com/article.php?codear=10052 (visited on 14 September 2006 )
8-Constructing Algerian blogging space, Kolyom website, http://kolyom.blogspot.com/2006_01_29_kolyom_archive.html (visited on 23 September 2006 )
9-Reporters without Boarders, Internet Under Surveillance, Algeria , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10730
10-Sherif Mansour , Algeria , the Annual Report of Civil Society and Democratic Reformation In The Arab World, 2004, Ibn Khladon Center publications.
11-Reporters without Boarders, Internet Under Surveillance, Algeria , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10730
12-Sherif Mansour , Algeria , the Annual Report of Civil Society and Democratic Reformation In The Arab World, 2004, Ibn Khladon Center publications.
13-Reporters without Boarders, Internet Under Surveillance, Algeria , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10730
14-Myriam Berber, Les tabous se brisent sur le Web algérien, rfi service pro, http://www.rfi.fr/fichiers/mfi/CultureSociete/779.asp (visited on 18 August 2006 )
15-Reporters without Boarders, Internet Under Surveillance, Algeria , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10730
16-Myriam Berber, Les tabous se brisent sur le Web algérien, rfi service pro, http://www.rfi.fr/fichiers/mfi/CultureSociete/779.asp (visited on 18 August 2006 )
17-Reporters without Boarders, Internet Under Surveillance, Algeria , http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=10730
18-Paul Bandar n, Cyber Cafes flourished in Algeria , Masrawy website, http://www.masrawy.com/News/2005/Technology/Reuters/April/26/OEGIN-INTER... (visited on 26 August 2006 )
19-Kamel Al-Sherazy, Negative impacts of Ouyahia decree …, El-Bilad newspaper, http://www.el-bilad.com/article.php?codear=7103 (visited on 14 September 2006 )
20-Laila K., Towards more strict censorship on cyber cafes, El-Belad Newspaper, http://www.el-bilad.com/article.php?codear=4010 (visited on 7 October 2006 )