"IPv6 and Digital Rights in Egypt: Towards a More Efficient, Free, and Inclusive Internet" 1 July 2025

In Egypt, as is the case worldwide, IPv6 is viewed not merely as a technical upgrade, but rather as a multidimensional strategic project. This initiative intersects with digital rights in multiple ways. It impacts digital privacy by enabling the tracking of personal devices through unique addresses. IPv6 could also have implications for freedom of expression due to structural changes in network architecture...
The paper covers the impact of adopting IPv6 on the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and access to information, as well as digital security and user protection...
...Egypt’s digital infrastructure is technically prepared for the transition to IPv6. However, the infrastructure still requires the activation of available resources, overcoming operational and regulatory obstacles, and providing tangible incentives to service providers to accelerate the transition...
...The law also obliges network operators to cooperate with security agencies regarding monitoring and logging, which implies that any new deployment of IPv6 will be subject to the same obligations... however, it granted authorities broad powers to block websites and monitor communications. For instance, the law legalizes the blocking of websites deemed to threaten national security or the economy, based on a judicial order, and sometimes even without one...
...Despite more than a decade of discussions around IPv6, the actual transition in Egypt remains limited...
...One of the main concerns is that each user will receive a unique public IPv6 address (or a range of addresses). This limits the “anonymity” that NAT technologies previously provided, where multiple users could share a single address...Another privacy-related concern is that IPv6 may make it easier for Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or advertising companies to build detailed user profiles, due to the stability of digital addresses and their association with specific devices...This expands surveillance capabilities without sufficient legal safeguards, threatens citizens’ freedoms, and undermines trust in the emerging digital environment...
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