EFF: The Internet is full of 'weak links', susceptible to shutdowns

In the wake of Egypt's internet shutdown a couple weeks ago, many have been left wondering how such a thing is possible. Moreover, if internet blackouts will become the new go-to move for governments that are fearful of their populaces' ability to propagate and disseminate controversial, possibly damning information.

No strangers to the plight of free speech in the digital age, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) chimed in on the constantly evolving landscape of free speech on the web, pointing out two terms that may become part of the new lexicon when discussing the internet: "weak links" and "quick links."

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Eva Galperin, an International Activist for the group, warned in a blog post that "governments throughout the world are coming to know that citizens' ability to get and give information through the internet is dependent upon 'weak links,' and that the most effective route to silencing communications is to lean on a weak link."

An apt appraisal of what the Egyptian government did when it ordered all Egyptian ISPs (the 'weak links' here) to effectively shut down the internet, leaving protesters using the service to connect with each other and get the word out about their plight literally in the dark.

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She also points out that weak links are unavoidable - "baked into the architecture of the internet," as it were. However, she counters that sobering fact with another: people find ways to limit or work around the damage caused by weak links crumbling under pressure.

"The Egypt internet blackout demonstrated a strength of the internet in terms of circumventing censorship - that the internet is highly amendable to the establishment of 'quick links,' the kind of relatively easy, quick-and-dirty solutions that get devices and communications content itself onto the internet," says Galperin. She points to two examples of such quick links: France Data Network and Telecomix News Agency, both which extended their services (albeit dial-up) to Egyptians during the crisis.

You can read the full article here. Let us know what you think in the comments.

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