The Rise and Fall of the Internet

In 2011, the Egyptian government shut down one of the country's two main exchange points. The internet was being used to organise protests as users were galvanised by sharing videos in real time. Since then, regimes have gotten a lot better at harnessing the internet's power for themselves. In 2019, both Iran and Iraq faced potentially destabilising protest movements,. Both governments reacted by pulling the national router. These blackouts, though, are costly. Iraq's 11 days shut down was estimated to cost their economy over $2 billion. Iran's only lasted eight days, but the communication blackout was used to imprison organisers and murder protesters in their hundreds.