Nationwide Internet Ban

Amidst the civil unrest in Egypt this week, the country decided to do the unthinkable--pull the plug on the internet.  It wasn't to stop people from playing Farmville, playing Call of Duty, or downloading music--it was to squelch free speech.  In one fell swoop, every twitter account, facebook and blog giving an inside view from Egypt went silent.  While protests continue, the evidence of them is largely hidden, thanks to their country-wide internet ban.

But something as large as the internet can not be taken down so easily.  While it may be slow, users are now connecting via dial-up to long distance service providers across the continent.  Some ISP's have even begun offering free access to anyone who dials in from Egypt to help alleviate their lack of communication.

While it may seem far-fetched that such a thing could ever happen here, keep in mind that Greece and Egypt seemed like perfectly stable, economically viable and peaceful countries just five years ago.  In a world where anything can happen, you may one day find yourself dusting off that old 56k modem once again.

Comments

  1. UnknownFebruary 8, 2011 at 8:15 AM

    That can and probably will happen here. Everyone knows that the steeper the hill is the faster you will roll down it and our hill is getting very steep. We need to get a lot of people out of Washington so that we can flatten that hill out. The place to start is at the top.

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