back to article Just days after tech community abandons plans to punish internet shutdowns… Egypt goes censorship crazy

Egypt has embarked on a new wave of online censorship, blocking news websites and killing off VPN services in order to limit its citizens' access to information. Over the past three weeks, the Egyptian authorities have blocked access to more than 50 news websites, including Al Jazeera and local newspapers Daily News Egypt, Al- …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    An entire continent united!

    But largely by a complete inability to govern itself.

  2. Fizzle
    Black Helicopters

    Today Egypt...

    ...tomorrow the UK.

    Especially during election times.

    Oh and BTW, we now know why May wanted to be able to see inside What's App etc. It wasn't to track terrorists (cowardly murderers is a better word and doesn't give them a legitimate label), but to try and keep track of all the MPs plotting to oust her.

    1. Youngone Silver badge

      Re: Today Egypt...

      @ Fizzle

      You jest of course, but that is exactly what the rulers in Egypt are worried about.

      The overthrow of Morsi in 2013 has left the whole place unstable, and from what I can gather there is still plenty of opposition to the military dictatorship currently ruling, and they are keen on stamping that out.

      May seems to have the same instincts as the thugs in charge in Egypt, although I am not for a minute suggesting she would or could stage the kind of power grab they did.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Today Egypt...

        @Youngone

        Who said May herself would stage the power grab? All of the Five Eyes countries have installed puppet leadership by this point, and are ruled by the same economics and banking groups. If one of them detects a significant threat to the stability of another, they all collaborate to stifle the uprising. Why else would they share intelligence?

    2. Mark 85

      Re: Today Egypt...

      I don't think the UK will be alone in this. My sense is that it might be tried in many other countries in the "Free World". I believe that all we, as citizens of these various countries, can do is wait and see and then, hopefully, react if it happens.

      1. h4rm0ny

        Re: Today Egypt...

        It absolutely will be tried in "the Free World" and is. But I hope nobody is foolish enough to think it will be called the same thing. It will be called countering propaganda and blocking extremism and resisting foreign meddling. And there will be vocal proponents championing it. That happens now in the EU for political purposes and I can give examples.

        The key elements are as follows:

        1) Is somebody restricting the sources of information you can access?

        2) Do you consider yourself unfit to choose your own sources of information?

        If the first is true and the second is not, then this is happening to you and what it's called is immaterial.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Today Egypt...

      She's already at it, try searching on google for "Theresa May Vampire" and you get the obligatory "Some results may have been removed under data protection law in Europe. Learn more"

      What on earth could she have ordered removed?

    4. Adam 52 Silver badge

      Re: Today Egypt...

      "...tomorrow the UK."

      Today the UK.

      We already have "voluntary" but almost universal blocking. We have the IWF. We have the ATVOD blocking local content. We have s.97 court orders.

      Our government is no different to the African dictators in principle, just more subtle about it.

      https://www.blocked.org.uk is a useful site.

  3. Barry Rueger

    The Internet is Unstoppable?

    I always was skeptical of the claims that the Internet would magically find ways to get around barriers or blocks, that by its very design it could move traffic around problems and "fix itself.". Like the early claims that "copyright doesn't apply to the 'net" it just seemed to good to be true.

    I guess I'm just glad that I was around to enjoy the first decade of the Internet when it really did feel like an open and free space.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The Internet is Unstoppable?

      It is not magical, it is the basis of how the internet works. That is what routing is all about - using different paths to a destination depending on availability or load.

      The fact a country has few enough routes out that they can all be easily controlled is a financial, practical, commercial decision. The internet is not magic, but it was designed to continue to work when any given node goes down.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "Google and Facebook face penalties if they don't stop online hate"

    https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/13/google-and-facebook-face-penalties-if-they-dont-stop-online-hate

    Yes, we must all learn to Love Big Sister so the Internet doesn't cost her the next Election as well.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Worth pointing out

    That neither the BBC nor Reuters, nor American "news" "sources" appear to have been affected.

    Then again, none of those appear to have considered this event worthy of any mention.

    It is also interesting btw that the Western press refers to the military junta as the "Egyptian government", as opposed to the "regimes" of certain other countries, including those which were democratically elected in reasonably fair elections.

    1. HausWolf

      Re: Worth pointing out

      That is because they are keeping those fanatical radical Islamic terrorists at bay so they are now good guys. Until they refuse to do someone's bidding like Saddam ended up doing.

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