According to an Inquirer article last week, China has blocked the word “Egypt” from the country’s popular twitter-like service, Sina microblogging, which has more than 50 million users. Typing the word would result in the message: “According to relevant laws, regulations and policies, the search results are not shown.”[1]
On the other hand, on complete blackout, Egyptians find new ways to go online. An activist from the group We Rebuild twitted “When countries block, we evolve.” "Basically, there are three ways of getting information out right now -- get access to the Noor ISP (which has about 8 percent of the market), use a land line to call someone, or use dial-up," Jillian York, a researcher with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said via e-mail. There are people who have posted instructions about how others can use their mobile phones as dial-up modems, while others are using fax machines to get information into Egypt about possible ways to communicate. We Rebuild has also set up an IRC for people who can help with ham radio transmission from Egypt and so far they’ve picked up Morse codes, but it is possible that people in Egypt are transmitting over shorter-range frequencies according to Allen Pitts (spokesman for the National Association for Amateur Radio).[2]
Whether its to ensure nationals will not get ideas from outside, or that nationals do not organize and let out ideas to the outside, governments may and already have stretched their regulating arm to censor or ban internet access in an effort to stunt communication. But with the ever-developing technologies, creative minds of many, and straight-out pure resilience, people will always find ways to communicate and broadcast to the world. And during these times of unrest in Egypt, I pray for the Egyptians that their country may return to peace.
Ma. Anna Katrina C. Eustaquio, Blog Entry #11
Image from: http://truthorigins.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/internet-censorship.jpg
[1] http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view/20110129-317311/China-blocks-Egypt-on-top-Twitter-like-service
[2] For the whole story, see: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9207078/Without_Internet_Egyptians_find_new_ways_to_get_online
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