Dictator-Proofing the Internet

To stop protesters from organizing and complaining, Egypt’s government shut down most of the nation’s internet services for five days, but not connections based on landlines or satellite dishes. Analyzing the shutdown’s successes and gaps, technology activists set out to develop alternative networks in nations like Jordan, Syria and Yemen, reports Daniel Lyons for Newsweek. He reports that the progressive Open Technology Initiative, based in Washington, DC, developed a software program that allows ordinary laptops to participate in a “mesh network”: “Best of all, if any single node on a mesh network can make a connection to the wider Internet, that node can share the connection with everyone.” US activists, who support universal free speech and an open internet, are raising funds to purchase satellites to allow free communication for Arab nations under authoritarian rule. – YaleGlobal