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> Let's not overplay this. Twitter and Facebook played a part in what happened, but in both countries the internet was either shut down or heavily restricted du
by cabalamat 16y ago
> Let's not overplay this. Twitter and Facebook played a part in what happened, but in both countries the internet was either shut down or heavily restricted during the key phases of the uprising.
The fact that governments shut down the net is evidence IN FAVOUR of the net's importance in revolutions.
> The thing which stopped the worst abuses of power against the people was the presence of the global media in countries where the west had significant financial and political interests.
Not really. The West has significant interests in China and Libya, but that didn't prevent the Tiananmen Sq massacre, or Gaddafi's recent massacres.
The most important factor is whether the army will fire on the people. They refused to obey orders to in Egypt, and Mubarak's rule was no longer viable.
- Tyrannosaurs 16y agoIt's in favour of the potential but the fact that the relevant networks were shut down by the governments in power shows that ultimately they can be relatively easily counteracted. That of course will change as the cost (to business and vital infrastructure) of disabling the internet and cellular networks increases. For instance in the UK police use the regular cellular networks for mobile data, shutting them down would impact both police and protesters. China's a special case - they're simply too powerful for the west to control and have been for some time. Libya is run by a madman who isn't open to reason. So yes you're right but the interest in and importance of the country to the west is a factor, even if it's not the only one.