5 ms·

Internet, Facebook blackout hits Algeria as protests gain strength

35 points by alphadoggs 16y ago

cristoperb 16y ago
That articles is light on details. Renesys, who did a great job reporting on what was happening with Egypt's networks, is keeping an eye on the situation. Hopefully they'll have some details tomorrow: http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/02/watching-algeria.shtml http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/02/watching-algeria.shtml It sounds to me like Bouteflika might be volunteering to be next. edit: I should note, as the renesys link above, that all of Algeria's prefixes are still being advertised publicly, so if they are blocking the internet at this point it is some kind of internal filter and not an Egypt-style total cutoff.
nano81 16y ago
I'm visiting Morocco in about 10 days. They seem relatively stable compared to Algeria, but I've seen reports of marches being organized there as well. It will be interesting.
abraham 16y ago
Google has not taken a hit so the internet as a whole does not seem to be blocked. http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/?r=US&l=WEBSEARCH&csd=1296977159770&ced=1297581959770 http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/?r=US&l...
SoftwareMaven 16y ago
"The protests and Internet crackdowns in these countries have revived talk in the United States of giving the president an Internet kill switch." I would hope that these events would be useful in convincing the people of the US that it is a bad idea to give the president a kill switch. The internet wasn't turned off in Egypt to help the Egyptian people, after all, and, if it is going down in Algeria, it isn't for their benefit, either.
- mdemare 16y ago
  By the time the situation in the U.S. deteriorates to that point, the president won't care about having legal authority to do something. It's as pointless as outlawing military coups.
  - Joakal 16y ago
    You mean when the USA enters a state of emergency. Like they are currently in since 1995? https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/State_of_emergency#United_States https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/State_of_emer...
- Sargis 16y ago
  On the other hand, giving the president an internet kill switch will drastically increase the development speed and popularity of systems such as the mesh network or something similar.
redouane 16y ago
lies, im algerian and there is no blackout here

35 points by alphadoggs 16y ago

That articles is light on details. Renesys, who did a great job reporting on what was happening with Egypt's networks, is keeping an eye on the situation. Hopefully they'll have some details tomorrow: http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/02/watching-algeria.shtml http://www.renesys.com/blog/2011/02/watching-algeria.shtml It sounds to me like Bouteflika might be volunteering to be next. edit: I should note, as the renesys link above, that all of Algeria's prefixes are still being advertised publicly, so if they are blocking the internet at this point it is some kind of internal filter and not an Egypt-style total cutoff.

nano81 16y ago

I'm visiting Morocco in about 10 days. They seem relatively stable compared to Algeria, but I've seen reports of marches being organized there as well. It will be interesting.

abraham 16y ago

Google has not taken a hit so the internet as a whole does not seem to be blocked. http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/?r=US&l=WEBSEARCH&csd=1296977159770&ced=1297581959770 http://www.google.com/transparencyreport/traffic/?r=US&l...

SoftwareMaven 16y ago

"The protests and Internet crackdowns in these countries have revived talk in the United States of giving the president an Internet kill switch." I would hope that these events would be useful in convincing the people of the US that it is a bad idea to give the president a kill switch. The internet wasn't turned off in Egypt to help the Egyptian people, after all, and, if it is going down in Algeria, it isn't for their benefit, either.

mdemare 16y ago
By the time the situation in the U.S. deteriorates to that point, the president won't care about having legal authority to do something. It's as pointless as outlawing military coups.
- Joakal 16y ago
  You mean when the USA enters a state of emergency. Like they are currently in since 1995? https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/State_of_emergency#United_States https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/State_of_emer...
Sargis 16y ago
On the other hand, giving the president an internet kill switch will drastically increase the development speed and popularity of systems such as the mesh network or something similar.

redouane 16y ago

lies, im algerian and there is no blackout here