In the last six days, outrage and uncertainty have dominated the international news.
Taking to the streets to protest a number of poor economic, political and human rights conditions in their country, the Egyptian people have shown the world they aren’t willing to put up with their government anymore.
As President Hosni Mubarak clings desperately to his 30-year reign, the steps taken to stop the popular uprising against him have brought to light some very important implications about the world we live in today.
In perhaps one of the strongest moves taken to quell the protests, the Egyptian government pulled the plug on the Internet, cell phones and just about anything else that gives easy access to social media and outside communication.
The regime’s emphasis on blocking social media is no coincidence. Twitter and Facebook were instrumental in organizing the protests in Egypt. The country’s population has a median age of just 24, considerably younger than most other nations.
Details to coordinate the initial protests were shared online after a successful revolution in Tunisia on Jan. 14. As the unrest picked up in Egypt, the Internet exploded with photos, videos, information and misinformation, all of which made its way around the world in no time.
Videos spread of tanks rolling into cities, tear gas filling streets, riot police beating citizens and protesters being shot. Amid all of this, Mubarak’s government foolishly thought the best move was to take Egypt offline and silence the voices calling for his resignation.
The people were not content to be silenced. Egyptians have since turned to landlines, fax machines and amateur radio to communicate domestically and across borders, and the rest of the world has seen two distinct reactions.
In most places, people have followed the Egyptians in spreading news and information through social media. On Twitter, for example, users around the world have used the “#jan25” tag to share updates on the uprising, which began Jan. 25.
This has scared other governments into following Mubarak’s lead. Syria has reportedly shut down Internet access in order to keep the news from spreading to its people, and China is blocking searches for the word “Egypt” on micro-blogging sites for the same reason.
Though shameful, it’s easy to understand why repressive governments would want to keep their people from accessing such powerful communication tools. Since the Tunisian protests began in mid-December and the Egyptian demonstrations gained national attention last week, protest fever has spread through much of the Arab world. Demonstrators have since come out demanding change in countries like Algeria, Yemen, Syria and Saudi Arabia.
As communication is more accessible now than ever before, the flow of information is clearly threatening to states that have an interest in silencing the voices of their people.
Though the protests come with an incredible amount of uncertainty, and the outcome could bring anything from more open and democratic governments to more corrupt and repressive regimes, the world has once again seen the power of social media and free speech.
Leaders in the free world will continue to evade a real response, but we should expect them all to actively support whatever outcomes won’t result in this new form of censorship.
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