Egypt
has just upped its war on the Internet, and cut access to mobile phone
communications, in areas where thousands of protesters gathered for a Day of
Revolution. The aim seemed to be an attempt to control the flood of protesters
and strangle the movement.
Demonstrations sprung across the country, with calls for the
end of President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule, corruption,
economic failings as well as other grievances. Word of the
protests and gathering points had been announced on social
networking sites, including microblogging site, Twitter, which
has been blocked by the authorities.
Such censorship has sparked the anger of activists,
especially since it is the first time in Egypt's history that
such heavy-handedness is used to silence people online. The move
is a stark reminder of the iron fist with which ousted Tunisian
strongman Zeine El Abidine Ben Ali clamped down on the Internet,
in neighbouring Tunisia, whose uprising has inspired millions of
Arabs.
Update: Internet Blocked
28th January 2011. See article
from mashable.com
It
is reported that Egypt is now under an Internet and SMS blackout.
The governments appears under siege after a series of major protests
against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.
Sebone, a major Egyptian service provider based in Italy, is
reporting that no Internet traffic is entering or exiting the
country. Reporters and citizens on-the-ground are also reporting
that they are experiencing an Internet and SMS outage.
Egypt has been enveloped in unrest over the presidency of
Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power since 1981. The protests
have been partly inspired by the successful revolution in
Tunisia that forced President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali out of
power after 23 years. Facebook, Twitter and social media were
key communication tools used by protesters to organize rallies.
Update: Al-Jazeera Banned
31st January 2011. See article
from cpj.org
Nilesat,
the Egyptian state satellite company has stopped transmitting the signal of Al-Jazeera's
primary Arabic language channel.
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the actions of Egyptian
authorities to disrupt media coverage by Al-Jazeera and calls on them to reverse
the decision immediately.
Both Al-Jazeera and Al-Jazeera English continued to report
today on Egypt from other locations. CPJ research shows that
viewers outside Egypt can now view the network's Arabic channel
only on the Hotbird satellite or other satellites not controlled
by Egyptian authorities.
But at least two individuals in Egypt who spoke to the
channel's anchor on air reported that they could not view the
channel even on non-state satellites, an indication that
authorities may be jamming those transmissions.
Al-Jazeera English's broadcast remained on Nilesat.
The
Egyptian government shut down most of its country's internet by simply throwing
a switch in a crucial data center in Cairo.