Technology is a two-edged political sword. The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.
The opinions expressed are his own. By Chris Hughes The conventional wisdom that modern revolutions are powered by the Internet and mobile phones faces a challenge. Firms forced to send pro-Mubarak texts: Vodafone. Updated Fri 4 Feb 2011, 3:59am AEDT Egyptian authorities have forced mobile phone operators to broadcast pro-government messages amid protests engulfing the country, British-based operator Vodafone said.
Vodafone condemned the "unacceptable" situation which comes after the government cut mobile communications in a bid to prevent demonstrators from coordinating their protests earlier in the crisis. "Under the emergency powers provisions of the Telecoms Act, the Egyptian authorities can instruct the mobile networks of Mobinil, Etisalat and Vodafone to send messages to the people of Egypt," Vodafone said in a statement.
Marietje Schaake Letter Internet freedom Egypt Ashton. Vodafone: There's blood on your handsets. Privacy Policy Last modified: November 11, 2011 This Privacy Policy is continually under review to ensure your privacy and security.
This website, (the “Site”) is operated by Access (“We” or “Us”). We work hard to protect your privacy. We’re members too, and we treat your privacy as we do our own. We strongly believe that you have the right to control the use of your personal information and that your privacy must be respected. In this policy, "Access" refers to Access staff, board members, cooperating attorneys, interns, volunteers, and consultants, all of whom are bound by law or contract to keep information they receive as part of their assistance to Access confidential.
Collection of Information. WebSymposium: the middle east, the revolution, and the internet. Egyptian Authorities Asked Vodafone to Cut Off Network - Davos Live. By WSJ Staff European Pressphoto Agency Vittorio Colao, Vodafone Group chief executive officer.
Foreign Policy: Vodafone: Government made us send pro-Mubarak text messages. Vodafone Says Egypt Forced Carriers to Send Messages. Vodafone says text messages still down in Egypt. Vodafone: Egypt Forced Us To Send Pro-Government Messages. (AP/Huffington Post) LONDON -- Vodafone says Egyptian authorities forced it to broadcast pro-government messages during the protests that have rocked the North African nation.
Micro-blogging site Twitter has been buzzing with screen grabs from Vodafone's Egyptian customers showing pro-government text messages sent to them in the run-up to the violent clashes in central Cairo which broke out on Wednesday. More on Cisco and the Great Firewall - James Fallows - Technology. Via Wired.com two days ago, an astonishing and apparently legit internal document from Cisco back in 2002, when it was preparing to sell the Chinese government the routers that were initially necessary to make the "Great Firewall" system of internet censorship work.
(My Atlantic article on how the Firewall works here; also, followup interviews with Network World and TheAtlantic.com. For the record, the official name for the firewall and related systems is not the Great Firewall but the "Golden Shield" project.) The "To Be Sure" section: - Cisco has always claimed, and this document supports, that it didn't tailor any of its products particularly to the Chinese government's needs. Vodafone's Egypt texts may do them lasting damage. Vodafone has admitted sending out pro-Mubarak text messages to users of its mobile service in Egypt – although as the company says, in a mea exculpa, it was obliged to by the government.
I had seen the pictures on Flickr last night, and followed some debate (involving Graham Linehan on Twitter) in which people debated whether they could be faked, and whether the translations given really did indicate a pro-Mubarak instruction; one suggestion was that the words were somewhat in the Nostradamus mode, where the meaning depended on what you wanted it to mean. This will be seized on by people who already want to dislike Vodafone (hello, UK Uncut) as further evidence of corporate evil. Certainly, it's the sort of thing that will have executives in technology companies heaving a sigh and being grateful it wasn't them. Vodafone network 'hijacked' by Egypt. 3 February 2011Last updated at 14:15 Mobile phones have played a big part in the Egyptian protests Mobile phone firm Vodafone has accused the Egyptian authorities of using its network to send unattributed text messages supporting the government.
Vodafone was told to switch off services last week when protests against President Hosni Mubarak began. Vodafone: Egypt Made Us Send Those Pro-Mubarak Texts. Critics: So? [Updates] Last Updated Feb 3, 2011 1:51 PM EST Vodafone (VOD) announced that the Egyptian government forced it to send pro-Hosni Mubarak text messages to its customers in that country.
![Vodafone: Egypt Made Us Send Those Pro-Mubarak Texts. Critics: So? [Updates]](http://cdn.pearltrees.com/s/pic/th/vodafone-mubarak-critics-18907896)
But even though the company says it "protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable," much global reaction has been negative, showing how easily it is to mishandle such circumstances. Vodafone initially switched off its cellular service at the beginning of the protests under the order of the government. According to a statement the company made available to BNET, since the state of the protests, the authorities ordered Vodafone to switch the network back on, and to send messages under the emergency powers provision of the Egyptian Telecoms Act. The major management blunder, however, was to mention these messages only after images of the texts, like the one below, began to appear online. Vodafone Says Egyptian Government Hijacked Its Networks To Send Propaganda - Andy Greenberg - The Firewall. Vodafone accuses Egypt's Mubarak of sending propaganda texts - Reports injured and missing engineers.
Vodafone has accused the Egyptian government of employing its mobile network to send unattributed pro-government text messages, while there are also concerns over some of its staff in the country.
Vodafone was one of three mobile phone companies that was instructed to send out text messages since protests broke out over a week ago against the leadership of President Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years. Vodafone was ordered to disable its services as part of a country-wide clampdown on internet and mobile communication, but it says the company was told to re-enable its network to send out government-sanctioned messages before disabling it again.
Reuters reported that it has seen one of these text messages, from February 2, which gave the details of the location and time of a pro-Mubarak rally. Vodafone forced to send pro-government messages in Egypt. 3 February '11, 03:17pm Follow Vodafone has announced that it has been forced to send pro-government messages to its subscribers in Egypt. In a short statement today, the network says that Egyptian authorities have been using emergency powers to instruct mobile networks Mobinil, Etisalat and Vodafone to send messages to the people of the troubled country since the protests began early last week. These messages, published in translated form over at Liberal Conspiracy, include statements like: “The Armed Forces asks Egypt’s honest and loyal men to confront the traitors and criminals and protect our people and honor and our precious Egypt.” and “Youth of Egypt, beware rumors and listen to the sound of reason – Egypt is above all so preserve it.”
Vodafone says it has no choice over the content of these messages, which are sent without any indication of their origin. Vodafone Says It Was Instructed to Send Pro-Mubarak Messages to Customers. Vodafone Group Plc was ordered to send mobile-phone text messages by the Egyptian government, urging people to confront “traitors and criminals” as demonstrators demanded the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian authorities can instruct the local mobile network operators, which also include Etisalat and France Telecom SA’s Mobinil service, to send messages under emergency powers provisions, Vodafone said today. The messages were not written by the mobile-phone operators, it said. Vodafone Says Egypt Hijacked Network to Send Messages to Customers.
In the midst of the Internet shutdown in Egypt, government officials took control of mobile phone networks to send text messages to subscribers, but did not make clear that the texts were coming from government officials, according to Vodafone. In the midst of the Internet shutdown in Egypt, government officials took control of mobile phone networks to send messages to subscribers, but did not make clear that they were coming from government officials, according to Vodafone. Vodafone forced to send texts from Egyptian government.
Vodafone was forced to send text messages composed by the Egyptian government during the protests in the country, the company announced on Thursday. The London-based operator, along with Mobinil and Etisalat, says that it was compelled to send the text messages — which identified the sender only as 'Vodafone' — under emergency powers of the Egyptian Telecoms Act. "They have used this since the start of the protests. These messages are not scripted by any of the mobile network operators and we do not have the ability to respond to the authorities on their content," Vodafone said in a statement. "Vodafone Group has protested to the authorities that the current situation regarding these messages is unacceptable. We have made clear that all messages should be transparent and clearly attributable to the originator.
" Wider internet access was also restored on Wednesday according to Ripe NCC, the European organisation that oversees internet address allocation. The Pro-Regime Text Messages - The Daily Dish. Vodafone verspreidt sms’jes Egyptisch regime. Nieuws - De afgelopen dagen hebben de operators in Egypte verschillende sms'jes verspreid met overheidsboodschappen. "Meewerken aan mensenrechtenschending", vindt D66 in Europa. Vodafone: misbruikt door autoriteiten Egypte. De Egyptische autoriteiten hebben sinds het begin van de protesten tegen president Hosni Mubarak klanten van Vodafone sms-berichten ten gunste van het bewind van het staatshoofd gestuurd.
Mubarak dwong bedrijven sms'jes te sturen - Economie. Egypt goes dark as last Internet company pulls the plug. News By Robert McMillan January 31, 2011 05:53 PM ET. Vodafone 'sent' pro-Mubarak SMS. Egypte : Vodafone pas responsable des SMS pro-Moubarak. Depuis les manifestations populaires qui ont éclaté en Egypte, les réseaux de communication sont sous contrôle du gouvernement, avec des moments épiques ayant conduit à la quasi-disparition temporaire de l'Egypte du paysage Internet.
Les réseaux mobiles sont également sous contrôle et le gouvernement peut légalement les utiliser pour diffuser par SMS des messages à la population. Les autorités en ont fait usage à plusieurs reprises depuis le début des événements et l'opérateur Vodafone Egypte a dû faire office de relais, comme les autres opérateurs mobiles du pays. Confusion sur l'expéditeurLe problème est que les SMS de soutien au gouvernement sont présentés...comme s'ils étaient envoyés par Vodafone, suggérant implicitement son soutien au régime en place.
La maison mère britannique a donc publié un communiqué en déplorant le manque de transparence quant à leur origine. Vodafone denuncia que el Gobierno de Mubarak le obligó a mandar mensajes en su favor – Mundo – Noticias, última hora, vídeos y fotos de Mundo en lainformacion. Anti-Government Protesters Clash With Pro-Mubarak Demonstrators La empresa de telefonía Vodafone, una de las dos principales operadoras en Egipto, asegura que el Gobierno le ha obligado a mandar mensajes en su favor, según la cadena qatarí Al Jazeera. Ayer una muchedumbre de manifestantes partidarios de Hosni Mubarak se acercaron a la plaza Tahrir de El Cairo y se iniciaron duros enfrentamientos con los detractores del dictador. El saldo: al menos cinco muertos y 800 heridos. Y hoy continúan los enfrentamientos. El Gobierno asegura que no tiene nada que ver "Os prometo que estos incidentes no pasarán sin una investigación", ha asegurado el primer ministro Ahmed Safik en una rueda de prensa a primera hora de esta tarde.
Safik ha insistido en que no tenía ni idea de lo que iba a suceder ayer. Aufruhr in Ägypten: Vodafone verteilte Pro-Mubarak-Propaganda - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Netzwelt. London/Berlin - Das ägyptische Regime hat die Mobilfunkbetreiber des Landes zu Handlangern gemacht. Mubarak obliga a Vodafone a enviar mensajes políticos via SMS en ALT1040 (Política) Ayer publiqué un post acerca de la resurrección del internet en Egipto. En menos de media hora tuve que actualizar para aclarar que no había nada que celebrar. Las especulaciones acerca de la motivación para reestablecer el servicio son varias, y lo cierto es que el gobierno de Mubarak ordenó reestablecerlo justo cuando estalló una batalla entre opositores que llevaban días protestando pacíficamente y el nuevo grupo de simpatizantes de Mubarak que arribó a Tahir. Estos últimos comenzaron un ataque que tuvó un devastador resultado. Distintos medios y blogs confirman que los simpatizantes de Mubarak son delincuentes y provocadores pagados, también llamados beltagiya.
Vodafone denuncia que el gobierno egipcio les ha obligado a enviar SMS pro Mubarack. Vodafone denuncia que el gobierno egipcio les ha obligado a enviar SMS pro Mubarack (Actualizada) Vodafone ha asegurado a través de un comunicado que las autoridades de Egipto les han forzado a distribuir mensajes de texto redactados por el gobierno en apoyo a su presidente Hosni Mubarack. Vodafone: Egypt forced us to send text messages. The most important news and commentary to read right now. - The Slatest. Pro-Mubarak text messages in Egypt; who sent them? People on Twitter have been sending these text messages around (uploaded by @SheriefFarouk) He tells me that all his friends (over 20) got the text messages from across Cairo (masr el gedida), Nasr city, Rehab city , maadi, Alexandria and Tanta.
The Role of Multinationals in Egypt’s Communication Shutdown. By Nicholas Kusnetz, ProPublica When the Egyptian government created a partial communications blackout on Thursday, shutting Internet and cell-phone service, it asked for the cooperation of foreign mobile phone companies. As Egyptians Reconnect, Their Government Will Be Watching - Andy Greenberg - The Firewall.
Vodafone exec warns against tech regulation. Annie Mullins: Digital Safety in an Interconnected World - Annie Mullins, Global Head of Content Standards, Vodafone. Annie Mullins of Vodafone Discusses Business' Role In Digital Media Literacy. Annie Mullins on the launch of the magazine "Digital Parenting" Can they hear me now? (On ICT regulations, governments, and transparency)