Internet Censorship in Egypt

Internet Censorship in Egypt

Understanding Internet Censorship

This is a situation, when you can neither publish nor access any other information already published on the net. The government of any country can make an endeavor to restrict or prevent its people from viewing or browsing these sites, but it actually does not succeed in doing so .This is so as the Government itself does not have a binding control over these sites. Absolute censoring, of news and information is virtually not possible. But by means of ‘Deceit ‘the censoring authorities, can block certain information that they do not want should reach out to their public. This too is possible with the help of a counterfeit message ‘Not Found’. This message does come up on its own in genuine cases.

Why is Censorship Imposed

Any Government would take necessary steps to impose web censorship if they feel it is any way threatening the government or the peace of the country within.There are countries like Australia, China, Yemen, Pakistan ,Burma, Syria, Cuba, UAE, and now Egypt who have censored web in more than one ways. The core objective is to safeguard ideas or content that ignites their public or goes against their religious, moral, cultural or social norms. Surprisingly in a survey held in the year 2002, it was found that almost as high as 60% people approved of this censorship. Internet Service Unit (ISU) implements all censorships. It also monitors and checks all the gateways of Internet Service Providers of the country.

Internet Censorship in Egypt

On the 27^th of January all internet connections in Egypt were paralyzed and immobilized. An Egyptian was questioned about what actually happened on the 27^th January with reference to the web. According to him, their government ensured that the four local Egyptian ISP switch off their internet services, consequently no one could reach networks that has Egyptian addresses .The domain names unreachable and the network shutdown intentionally resulted in absence of Egyptian names and their contact details from the inter net. Ass per him there was one small ISP provider left untouched and this one caters to the stock exchange, web requirements.

Impact of Censorship in Egypt

When one of the Egyptians was asked about the impact of this censorship he voiced the opinion of his country men. First and foremost the disgust was apparent in his tone and reaction to the entire censorship. He said this not only disconnected them from the rest of the world, it also impacted business of all those who depend on net for their work. Students, businessmen, and others, there were millions of them who were deprived of net connectivity and internet access. Individuals, businesses, schools, Government offices and many other international institutions based in Egypt all went off line. As per him, the censorship imposed crippled the life of Egypt. He was enraged at the Government for disabling and damaging the ability of an individual to earn his living. The Egypt economy came to a dead stop.

How do People of Egypt See This Act of Censorship

He said that people of Cairo have been restless for quite some time now, with unemployment rising and the graduates unable to find jobs for themselves. Now with internet censorship, they feel that they have been completely cut off from the rest of the world. He feels that Egypt will face the adverse consequences of disconnecting its people from the world. The country will suffer and this is a great setback for the people of Egypt and their progress for which they need to connect with the world. This is a grave decision to be taken and it almost amount to intrusion on the fundamental rights of its citizens to communicate. He said this was totally unconstitutional and unethical.

How People Bypass it in Egypt?

We asked him, if this censorship was observed by people of Egypt solemnly or were they able to bypass it? There was a group of other local young people standing who retorted with an attitude of tit for tat. They said there are other international agencies who are trying their best to prevent the total shutdown of internet in Egypt. These agencies are an integral part of global network of free speech activists. They are making consolidated endeavors to break through the media black out in Egypt. Their attempt is, it to by pass the information blackout. These agencies work under the umbrella of organization Telecomix. They are in the process of devising new media tools of communication to restore net connectivity in Egypt. The Egyptians have been apprised of this new communication tool and the inflow and outflow of messages has begun already. Telecomix, also came to the rescue of Tunisians, Chinese, Iranians, and other nationals, whose Government had censored or blocked parts of internet in their respective countries. Many of the Egyptians use VPN services such as VPNMaster to bypass restrictions. Even if internet is censored people always find a way to bypass it.