LEGISLATION WATCH- House ICT Committee signs off on Cybercrimes Act clause imposing two-year jail sentence: The House of Representatives’ ICT Committee approved yesterday a clause of the Cyber Crimes Act imposing prison sentences of up to two years and fines of EGP 100k-300k fine on anyone who creates, manages, or uses a website or an online account aiming to commit or facilitate a crime, Al Shorouk reports. The committee had approved last month a clause of the legislation allowing the Prosecutor General to ban websites that publish content deemed criminal. Committee discussions of the draft law are expected to wrap up on Thursday, according to Youm7. The bill was introduced to the House in February, expanding the definition of online crime to include “spreading false news on Egypt,” which will apply to all media outlets.

Elsewhere in Parliament, the Local Administration Committee is expected to complete its discussion of the bill to set up the Supreme Authority for Upper Egypt Development today, Ahram Gate reports. Cabinet had signed off on the legislation — which would mandate the authority with drafting a holistic strategy for the economic, social, and urban development of regional areas — in February.

The House’s Industry Committee has also added the Industrial Development Act to the next plenary session’s agenda for a final vote after completing its review of the bill yesterday, Al Mal reports. The bill is expected to give the Industrial Development Authority more autonomy over its budget, as well as more power to allocate state-owned land to industry.