Critical.
Authoritative.
Strategic.
Subscribe to CIO Magazine »

Internet, Facebook blackout hits Algeria as protests gain strength

Reports out of Algeria say the North African country has shut down Internet access and eliminated Facebook accounts as pro-democracy protesters seek to topple the government much as Egyptians did in their nation this week.

The report from The Telegraph of London says some 30,000 riot police were used to disperse crowds in Algiers and that journalists have been targeted by "state-sponsored thugs."

Reports of the international hacking group Anonymous blocking an Algerian government website have also surfaced.

EGYPT: Anatomy of an Internet blackout

Protesters against President Abdelaziz Boutifleka's regime in Algeria have been encouraged by the success of anti-government movements in Egypt and Tunisia (a neighbor of Algeria) organized to a great extent via the Internet and social media. Egypt's economy reportedly lost $90 million by blocking Internet access.

The protests and Internet crackdowns in these countries have revived talk in the United States of giving the president an Internet kill switch.

Read more about data center in Network World's Data Center section.

Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.

More about: Facebook, OECD
References show all

Comments

Post new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.
Users posting comments agree to the CIO comments policy.
Login or register to link comments to your user profile, or you may also post a comment without being logged in.
Related Coverage
Related Whitepapers
Latest Stories
Community Comments
Tags: applications, collaboration, Facebook, government, industry verticals, internet, Internet-based applications and services, Internet blackout, networking, social media, social networking, software, unified communications, web 2.0
Latest Blog Posts
Whitepapers
  • Fixing Your Dropbox Problem - How the Right Data Protection Strategy Can Help
    It’s estimated that more than 50 million people have used public cloud storage services such as Dropbox to share and exchange files. Public cloud services are so easy to use that their openness can undermine existing IT policies regarding the transmission of confidential data. With data volumes threatening to overwhelm onsite storage, IT managers are looking to find a solution that’s affordable and secure. This paper details a simple three-step approach to helping users manage access to the public cloud without placing your data or your business at risk. Read on.
    Learn more »
  • HP ePrint Enterprise mobile printing solution
    The merger of mobile devices and cloud services has become one of the most significant enablers of business productivity and innovation in the past decade. We now hold the power of communicating and computing in the palms of our hands, nearly anywhere business or life takes us. However, one key business process has eluded the mobility movement: printing. Even the most technically enabled business travelers find themselves hunting down print services while on the road and interrupting IT managers when visiting a branch office simply to print a document. But finally, a truly mobile print experience is available—helping enterprises to drive business productivity further. Read more.
    Learn more »
  • Customer Case Study: Yarra Valley Water Turns to Enterprise Software to Improve Information Flow
    “We don’t need to wait till month-end for management reports—they’re now available whenever we need them. We have much more efficient management, as everyone across the organization is looking at the same set of figures. Read on.
    Learn more »
All whitepapers
rhs_login_lockGet exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis.
Recent comments