From: Morocco World News

By Karima Rhanem

Rabat – Morocco new digital code*, which has been retrieved for revision from the official website of the State General Secretariat of the Government, is generally believed to put an end to anonymity on the internet.

This decade-long awaited digital law, originally designed to protect citizens and consumers from different abuses they may face online, sparked an intensive cyber protest by internet communities about some of its provisions seen as threatening individual and collective liberties.

To demand the changes in some articles in the cyber law, Moroccan activists launched an online protest campaign only few hours after the Minister of Industry, Commerce, Investment and Digital Economy, Mouay Hafid El Alami announced he will present the code to the government for ratification. The campaign used the Hashtags   #Code_Num, [#almodwana rakmiya lan tamor] on twitter and created a Facebook page attracting over 5500 fans.

Analysts said that social media in Morocco play a major opposition role and proved effective in impacting public policies. Its influence could be explained by the retrieval of the code by the government. Ayoub Errimi, author of the article “A Cyber protest in Morocco puts down the digital code” posted on DW website, quoted journalist Hamza Mahfoud saying that “with weak and dispersed opposition, internet became an alternative tool, playing a significant role with an effective power to influence policies more than what can institutions do.”

Read Complete Article