The Internet

The internet, how long could you really go without? Most of us say oh it's nothing really that big i could go for a while without but what if it was taken from you? The recent situation in Egypt has shown us how important the internet is. Former, thank goodness, President Mubarak saw the example set in Iran how large a role the internet can play in protests. When he saw his people rising up in protests against him one of his first moves was to cut off their access to the outside world, this included internet access and cell phones. By doing this he hoped to limit the impact of his further actions of attempting to contain the protests. However, the world responded to this taking of communication before Mubarak could do anything else. The internet group Anonymous began faxing news reports to Egypt, European companies offered dial up connections through phone lines, and satellite phones were smuggled into the country. It has become clear that today no large group can be cut off from the outside world. In July of 2009 France declared access to the internet to be a basic human right equal to that of water or roads, last year in a BBC poll almost 8 of 10 people agreed with this. This could be seen today by the massive outcry that arose when Mubarak cut off his people's internet access. Today, more than ever, the phrase "world wide web" means just that.