Constitution committee spokesperson Mohamed Salmawy announced on Thursday that the committee has approved an article to ban censorship of state media in Egypt.

"An article was approved on Thursday to ban censorship of official media, including state-owned newspapers, TV, and radio, except in certain conditions such as war or public mobilisation," Salmawy stated.

Salmawy clarified that foreign media would be guided by different criteria with regards to censorship, confiscation, and closure.

"An exceptional, limited censorship can be allowed for foreign media during war or public mobilisation," he announced.

The committee spokesperson added that this will be the first Egyptian constitution to clearly address the independence of official media. The proposed article expresses a commitment to an independent state-owned media free of bias and control by the ruling government.

The committee, tasked with amending the suspended 2012 constitution, passed another article on Thursday which would ban deliberate cuts to means of communication, such as phones or internet, Salmawy added.