by Alex Hudson, BBC
While the internet in Egypt has been re-established, the decision to cut off mobile and web networks was near-unprecedented. Does this mean that the “democracy” and “freedom” so often talked about in relation to the internet is under threat? Facebook says that “no one should be denied access to the Internet” The uprising in Egypt is “World Web War I”, says journalist Barton Gellman in Time Magazine. Cutting off nearly all internet traffic for five days created a backlash, not only from the people of Egypt but from the usually apolitical companies Google and Twitter. Google did not comment on the political situation but wanted to “go some way to helping people in Egypt stay connected at this very difficult time” by offering an internet-free way of using Twitter over the phone.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9386720.stm
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