Tunisian court orders pornographic website ban

A Tunisian court has ordered the Tunisian Internet Agency (ATI) to block all pornographic websites, which became accessible after the lifting of censorship in January, the media said Friday. The court ordered the censorship of X-rated sites following a suit filed last week by three lawyers, who argued that such sites were a danger to young people and were contrary to Muslim values. According to the Tunisian Internet site Business news, seven pornographic sites have appeared among the 100 most visited sites in the north African country since the end of censorship. Five of them are among the 50 most consulted. This ban, if it is upheld, would be the second case of censorship of the Internet since the fall of the authoritarian regime of president Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali on January 14. At the beginning of May, several sites and Facebook profiles were blocked by the ATI on the orders of a military tribunal, although the reason was not clear. A leading defender of freedom of expression on the Internet and noted blogger Slim Amamou, who was named junior minister for youth on January 17 in the interim government, resigned this week. Amamou criticised the renewed censorship on the Internet and stated that he would "feel more useful outside the government".