Jan 28, 2011

Tell Congress: Investigate Egypt's Internet Crackdown

By Films For Action / act2.freepress.net
Tell Congress: Investigate Egypt's Internet Crackdown

Egypt's Mubarak regime today shut down Internet and cell phone communications before launching a violent crackdown against protesters. 

Free Press has just discovered that one American company — Boeing-owned Narus of Sunnyvale, Calif. — has sold Egypt "Deep Packet Inspection" (DPI) equipment that can be used by the regime to track, target and crush political dissent over the Internet and mobile phones.1

Egyptian security forces have already arrested leading opposition figures for speaking out online. At such a crucial moment of democratic upheaval, it’s shocking that an American company would help Egypt repress its people.

Since the 2009 crackdown in Iran, Free Press has raised the alarm over the abuse of this technology. Today, we’re calling on Congress to investigate global trafficking in DPI technology by American firms. Add your name to our letter now.

Lawmakers of both parties seem to agree that democracy everywhere is at risk when you let repressive regimes block open networks.

"Internet Censorship is a real challenge, and not one any particular industry — much less any single company — can tackle on its own," California Rep. Mary Bono Mack wrote in 2009. "Efforts to promote freedom of expression and to limit the impact of censorship require both private and public sector engagement."

Yesterday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Egypt's government "not to prevent peaceful protests or block communications, including on social media."

The power to control the Internet and the resulting harm to democracy are so disturbing that the threshold for using DPI must be set very high. That’s why, before DPI becomes more widely used around the world and at home, the U.S. government must establish clear and legitimate criteria for governing the use of such surveillance and control technologies.

Tell Congress to protect free speech online at home and abroad, and to investigate DPI now.

Today, as we’re watching the grave dangers of DPI technology unfold in real time on the streets of Cairo, it’s urgent that our lawmakers do everything they can to protect free speech and democracy.

Thank you,

Timothy Karr
Campaign Director
Free Press

1. Timothy Karr, "One U.S. Corporation's Role in Egypt's Brutal Crackdown," Huffington Post, 1/28/11: http://act2.freepress.net/go/1989?akid=2254.9451009.9QAEUs&t=5

Related Films
The Miami Model
91 min · Martial Law was declared in downtown Miami in November of 2003 to provide security for the FTAA Economic Summit. Blatant and unashamed police brutality is caught on film. The US Federal government granted the State of Florida $8.5...
Ground Noise & Static
31 min · A video report on the protests that occurred in connection with the Democrat and Republican National Conventions in 2008, Ground Noise & Static is a manifesto. We went to Denver and St. Paul to take the pulse of the movement. Corporate...
Unwritten Future
48 min ·  A documentary that looks into the events during the Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, MN. Footage contains excessive use of force and questionable tactics used by police toward activists. It also includes interviews with...
Democracy 101: Pittsburgh G20 Protests and the Police Occupation of Pitt University
30 min · Version 1 of a documentary about the recent Pittsburgh G20 Protests, and the Police Occupation of the University of Pittsburgh. This film is a collaboration between Pittsburgh Indymedia, Chicago Indymedia, Twin Cities Indymedia, and the...
Police State Canada
18 min · Provocation and police terror at the G20 summit in Toronto. "A brilliant production" - Michel Chossudovsky, Centre for Research on Globalization.
Police & Prisons
Trending Articles
Films For Action
Hope is a Verb
Beyond Elections: Redefining Democracy and the Promise of a Million Utopias
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films

Become a Patron. Support Films For Action.

For $5 a month, you'll gain access to over 50 patron-exclusive documentaries while keeping us ad-free and financially independent. We need 350 more Patrons to grow our team in 2024.

Subscribe here

Your support helps grow our 6000+ video library, which is 99% free thanks to our patrons!