As anti-government demonstrations continue in Algeria, reports are surfacing that the Algerian government has shut down social media websites such as Facebook. According to Bluhalo, some news agencies have reported that the internet is now entirely inaccessible in much of the country.
More than 30,000 police officers have been confronting crowds of anti-government demonstrators in the capital, Algiers, according to the Daily Telegraph. Many of the demonstrators reportedly used Facebook to help coordinate.
This is not the first time reports have come through of Facebook being blocked in Algeria. On February 12, Algerian activists reported via Twitter that many Facebook accounts had been deleted or blocked by the government.
The web censorship has imitated that of the Egyptian government. After demonstrations first began in Egypt, the government initiated an unprecedented five-day internet blackout. In Egypt, however, the effort failed to achieve the desired results: discouraging Egyptians from joining the demonstrations.
It remains to be seen what the outcome will be in Algeria.
By Staff
