The Egyptian government has restored Internet service to the country after an unprecedented nationwide Internet shutdown that lasted almost a week, the Internet security firm Renesys confirms.
The communications shutdown, which began on January 27, was meant to make it more difficult for protesters to organize. But it didna4ぎa4д stop an estimated 250,000 citizens from gathering in Cairo yesterday to call for the end of Egyptian President Hosni Mubaraka4ぎa4г rule, which has lasted for three decades. Smaller protests also sprung up in other major Egyptian cities like Alexandria.
By restoring Internet access, the Egyptian government may be hoping to stabilize the turmoil the country is currently facing. Yesterday President Mubarak announced that he wouldna4ぎa4д seek re-election later this year. But anti-Mubarak protesters are fed up and want him out of the country as soon as possible.
The government first blocked social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook on January 25 &8212' services that have become increasingly important to activists over the last few years. During Irana4ぎa4г protests in 2009, Twitter became one of the most widely used tools for protesters. Twitter cofounder Biz Stone responded to Egypta4ぎa4г Internet block last week, declaring a4ぎAThe tweets must flow!a4ぎ Google ended up launching a speak-to-tweet service last week to help Egyptians be heard (you can listen to recordings at the Speak2Tweet Twitter account).
Photo via Al Jazeera English
Next Story: Ning adds lots of knobs and dials to prettify its custom social networks Previous Story: Flash game developers flock to Android (survey)
Print Email Twitter Facebook Google Buzz LinkedIn Digg StumbleUpon Reddit Delicious Google More&8230'
Companies: Google, Twitter
People: Hosni Mubarak
Companies: Google, Twitter
People: Hosni Mubarak
Devindra Hardawar is VentureBeat's lead mobile writer and East Coast correspondent. He studied philosophy at Amherst College, worked in IT support for several years, and has been writing about technology since 2004. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. You can reach him at devindra@venturebeat.com (all story pitches should also be sent to tips@venturebeat.com), and on Twitter at @Devindra.
Have news to share Launching a startup Email: tips@venturebeat.com
VentureBeat has new weekly email newsletters. Stay on top of the news, and don't miss a beat.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
Comments