[LINK] How Egypt Shut down the net

[Paul Brooks]

On 23/02/2011 6:57 AM, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
>>
>> - traffic stops flowing
>>
>>
>> This reason this wouldn't (shouldn't?) work in less autocratic countries is
>> that at step one the ISP is confident enough in their countries institutions
>> to respond with "get stuffed".
> Marty,
>
> The "what stops Australia from doing what Egypt did?" from (especially) 
> the lunar right turns out to be unanswerable. They seriously believe the 
> government has instant powers to declare an emergency on any pretext and 
> take over the infrastructure. Questions of laws, the High Court, etc, 
> are considered irrelevant. The government's coming to get you!

Yes, the government can do the same here as happened in Egypt - about the only
comforting factor is that here we are more likely to get an enquiry afterwards to
declare after-the-fact that the orders to 'down the Internet' were a violation of
something.

P.