Cairo: An Egyptian court on Saturday ordered blocking of video-sharing website YouTube for a month for hosting an anti-Islam film that triggered deadly outrage across the Muslim world last year.
After a complaint by an Egyptian who accused YouTube of being a "threat to social peace" by putting the US-made film `Innocence of Muslims` online, the administrative court ruled the authorities must take measures to block access to the site for a month.
The verdict also applies to any website that aided in the sharing of the 13-minute film.
The low-production movie deemed offensive to Islam sparked a wave of angry anti-American protests across the world in which more than 30 people were killed.
Today`s ruling is the first in cases related to the movie as several more await court verdicts.
There was no immediate comment on the ruling from the Egyptian government which could easily overlook the verdict after an attempt to block pornographic sites in Egypt last year failed.
YouTube, a subsidiary of US Internet giant Google, has been blocked in Pakistan since December for refusing to heed Islamabad`s call to remove the controversial video.
The site simply restricted access to the film for Internet users in several countries, including Egypt, Libya, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia.
On January 29, a Cairo court had upheld death sentences passed on seven Egyptian Coptic Christians in absentia for their involvement in making the film.
The accused, including the movie`s director, are currently living in the US.
PTI
