**#2 LEGISLATION WATCH- New consumer protection act creates advertising watchdog, puts car, e-commerce and real estate sectors under spotlight: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi signed into law amendments to the Consumer Protection Act, the amended text of which was published on Sunday in the Official Gazette. The act, easily the least business-friendly of the Sisi administration’s economic reform package, sets a legal framework and mechanism by which the government could institute price controls. The law also gives the Consumer Protection Authority (CPA) the right to censor ads, and regulate markets including e-commerce, real estate and auto sales. The law also requires manufacturers to recall products that break within a year of a consumer making a purchase. You can check our primer on the law here.

Stickers is beaming: CPA head Rady “Stickers” Abdel Moaty is beaming from the victory, calling in to Hona Al Asema to hail law as a step forward for consumer safety. He delighted in his new role as advertising tsar and delivered his first warning that the law would punish ads he considers misleading (watch, runtime: 6:02).

Rep. Medhat El Sherif tried to give the impression that business had a say in the law by pointing to meetings held with various business associations. He noted other features of law, including that the CPA will be an independent body under the supervision of the Madbouly Cabinet and not the Supply Ministry (watch, runtime: 5:12).