Fresh Social Media Concerns In Egypt
#WeAreBeingWatched
The Egyptian government has announced a plan to monitor social media activity in the country in order to prevent potential terrorist attacks. Despite the alleged good intentions by the government, the news has alarmed many, of whom now are expressing their dismay at their privacy online being interrupted.
Source: business2community.com
#WeAreBeingWatched is one of the top trending hashtags in Egypt at the moment, and since Saturday, it has been used more than 46,000 times on Twitter. The campaign launched via social media comes in response to a plan announced by the Interior Ministry to search Twitter and Facebook for signals that suggest terrorist activity.
Abdel Fatah Uthman, a spokesman at the ministry, said “we aim to hunt the explosive makers who target the innocent. We do not seek to interfere with anyone’s privacy.” He then went on to criticise Western attitudes towards social media: “The US listens in to phone calls, and supervises anyone who could threaten its national security.”
Despite Abdel’s comments, many are unconvinced on the county’s new stance on social media intrusion. A number of users responded by mocking the system: “Good morning, watchdogs, I have woken up” one user joked. “Will a terrorist tweet ‘I made a bomb’?” another user asked in jest.
The move comes just days before the African nation’s new elected leader, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, takes power, and it has been hailed as a “scientific achievement” by the government ministry. The details of the new system have been outlined, and it will monitor influential activists, and individuals who “mobilise protests, strikes and sit-ins.” Many critics on Twitter are concerned that it could impact freedom of speech and be used as a tool for control and repression.
All this depends on how the government use the information though, but the fact that they have this weapon in their arsenal is a worrying concept for many. With unrest growing across the globe due to financial hardship and cultural differences, it is a concern that establishments are seeking to break the privacy of many online. In today’s age, the online community is somewhere where one can express an opinion without any consequences to a degree, but with these systems available to the powers that be, all that could change.
Source: secretsofthefeds.com
Slowly but surely, governments are wising up to how powerful social media is, and they are taking actions to squeeze the freedom of speech on it. They have already utilised the online sphere to promote election campaigns, and next, when elected into power, different ideological parties will change social media in the way they see fit.
There is a sense that Egypt may be the first of many, in what seems to be a growing concern across the world. The social media we know today may be gone tomorrow, as freedom of speech could be ripped away. Governments when given the opportunity will seek to indoctrinate through the art of online communication, whilst monitoring the general public, and although there is a mainly negative feeling around this subject, it certainly shows how far social media has come.
The leading establishments in the world are now taking social media very seriously, and Egypt are just capitalising on an iron that is currently scorching.
Alex is an English Literature and Sociology undergraduate whose love for written word has led him to write about some obscure topics in his time. Currently a content writer at Social Media Frontiers, be sure to follow him @AlexSatSMF.
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Fresh Social Media Concerns In Egypt
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Tuesday, June 03, 2014
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Tuesday, June 03, 2014
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