Egypt: So much for freedom of expression
“See Egypt” – a new travel website? A motto for a new tourism promotion? An online spying campaign?
Likely the government of Egypt would rather their new online monitoring campaign not be described using the word “spying,” so you decide. The country – through the help of a United States-based online security company, namely Blue Coat – has set up what it is calling a communication program that monitors social networking websites.
“See Egypt” is a sister company of Blue Coat, and the monitoring of Egypt’s online communications has already begun. The country’s Interior Ministry had announced in June that this surveillance program was coming with the purpose being to watch for terrorist security threats.
The now deposed President Hosni Mubarak was known for directing his Interior Ministry to spy on its own citizens, but at that time it was used as a way to monitor political dissent. According to government officials, this monitoring program is legal and is only being used to monitor public – as in social – media.
Could the government access an individual’s private account? Well, yes. But only if the government first gets a court order to do so. Government representatives have reported that several people have been arrested via this surveillance program. The suspects were charged with inciting violence against the army and police who have been targeted by a growing Islamist rebel group.
“See Egypt” had the task of training the government on how to use the program. The system being used is similar to programs used in the West and has the capability to penetrate other programs such as “Skype,” “WhatsApp,” and “Viber.”
Source: eturbonews.com
