Service blocking
Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, Skype
In scenes reminiscent of the 2011 Arab Spring revolt, Egyptians flooded Tahrir Square in Cairo and several other major cities on Friday, calling for Sisi to step down. Protesters in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Damietta could be seen chanting “The people demand the fall of the regime,” “Get out, Sisi,” and “Rise up, fear not, Sisi must go.” Videos of the demonstrations spread rapidly on social media.
- Total Duration 1 day
Egypt
- Population
- 114,535,772
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Not Free
Local impact
In scenes reminiscent of the 2011 Arab Spring revolt, Egyptians flooded Tahrir Square in Cairo and several other major cities on Friday, calling for Sisi to step down. Protesters in Cairo, Alexandria, Suez and Damietta could be seen chanting “The people demand the fall of the regime,” “Get out, Sisi,” and “Rise up, fear not, Sisi must go.” Videos of the demonstrations spread rapidly on social media.
Related documentation
Anti-Sisi protesters have been met with police force as demonstrators take part in 'Friday of Anger' rallies across Egypt. The latest wave of protests come after whistleblower Mohamed Ali called on Egyptians to take to the streets against President Sisi.#جمعه_الغضب_25_سبتمبر pic.twitter.com/Hfwpsjmcjv — Middle East Eye (@MiddleEastEye) September 25, 2020
It’s happening, anti-Sisi protests in Egypt. May not spiral but a lot is happening these days, and this does seem like the beginning of a new phase. pic.twitter.com/5ydW2mmutO — Hassan I. Hassan (@hxhassan) September 20, 2019
Other supporting information
Access to news sites, and social media and messaging platforms was disrupted in the wake of anti-government protests in cities including Cairo and Alexandria. The protests were sparked by businessman and former military contractor Mohamed Ali, who posted videos alleging corruption by the Egyptian Armed Forces and accusing President Sisi of squandering money on palaces and luxury villas.
The block placed on the BBC’s website was confirmed by the head of the Supreme Council for Media Regulation, who said it was due to the BBC’s “inaccurate” coverage of the protests.
OONI data collected from Egypt corroborates some of these reported blocks.
The following charts aggregate OONI measurement coverage from the testing of the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Skype websites in Egypt throughout September 2019.
Chart: OONI Probe testing of the Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Skype websites in Egypt between 1st to 30th September 2019 (source: OONI MAT).
While all 4 websites were found accessible when tested on multiple networks in Egypt during the first week of September 2019, we observe that the testing of Twitter and Skype started presenting anomalies from 22nd September 2019 onwards. Skype presented anomalies every time it was subsequently tested until the end of September 2019, providing a stronger signal of blocking. Twitter mainly presented anomalies between 22nd to 24th September 2019, but was also found accessible on several networks during this period. Neither Facebook nor Instagram presented any signs of interference on tested networks throughout September 2019.
Similarly, OONI data does not show any strong signs of WhatsApp interference in September 2019 (except for one anomalous measurement, collected on 22nd September 2019, which shows that attempts to connect to WhatsApp’s registration service failed).
Chart: OONI Probe testing of WhatsApp in Egypt between 1st to 30th September 2019 (source: OONI MAT).
Meanwhile, OONI data shows that access to both BBC and Alhurra was blocked in Egypt on 22nd September 2019.
Chart: OONI Probe testing of BBC and Alhurra in Egypt between 1st to 30th September 2019 (source: OONI MAT).
Earlier this year, the Supreme Council for Media Regulation enacted a controversial law, passed in 2018, allowing it to block websites and social media accounts with more than 5,000 followers, for posting content on a range of prohibited topics, including “anything inciting violating the law, public morals, racism, intolerance, violence, discrimination between citizens or hatred.”