Egypt denies tightening Internet surveillance

Egypt’s interior ministry has denied recent reports suggesting it had hired a U.S.-based security firm to extensively monitor Internet activity on social media.

A BuzzFeed News report reported earlier this week that the ministry had agreed with See Egypt, the sister firm of U.S.-based Blue Coat, to oversee Internet activities on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

However, the ministry rejected the reports, describing them as “false.”

"This news is completely false," a spokesman for the interior ministry’s media center said in a statement.

The spokesman also urged media outlets to avoid running such news stories without making sure of their accuracy.

BuzzFeed reported earlier that the Egyptian government signed a contract with See Egypt to monitor Egypt's online communications.