Egypt Sets Precedent as Internet Access Fully Cut Off

World | February 1, 2011, Tuesday // 03:25
Bulgaria: Egypt Sets Precedent as Internet Access Fully Cut Off A sea of protesters flooded downtown Cairo on Monday, brushing aside President Hosni Mubarak's concessions and vowing to topple his regime with strikes and million-strong marches in the capital and Alexandria. EPA/BGNES

The Mubarak regime in Egypt has set a historical precedent by shutting off completely the country’s Internet connection as it continues to be rocked by mass civic protests.

As the civil unrest intensified on Friday, the Egyptian authorities turned off the connection of the major Internet providers in order to deny the protesters access to online social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube that they used to organize and publicize their protests.

Late on Monday the Mubarak regime has cut off the connection of the last functioning Internet provider in Egypt, Noor, reported Renesys.

Thus, the civil unrest in Egypt marks the first time in the history of Internet the access to the World Wide Web is blocked in an entire country.

The political power of the social networks on the Internet to cripple authoritarian regimes is becoming increasingly visible as earlier in January 2011, these tools were used in the overthrown of President Ben Ali in Tunisia, and are fueling protests in Sudan, Jordan, and Yemen simultaneously with those in Egypt.  

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Tags: Egypt, Internet, youtube, Facebook, Twitter, social network, Hosni Mubarak, civil unrest, street protests

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