Prague - Ongoing popular revolts in the Arab world, already compared by Al-Jazeera English to the 1989 revolutions in Eastern Europe, have been relying heavily on modern communication, internet-based devices and social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter, used to organize and coordinate protest actions. This was the reason why Egyptian authorities shut down the internet on Thursday evening, January 27, amid growing pro-democracy protests against President Mubarak.
The internet traffic in the most populous Arab country quickly dropped to zero and remained such for several days, until the connection was restored on February 2.
Would something similar be possible in the Czech Republic - for example, in order to prevent a terrorist attack? Is there any "red button"?
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Aktualne.cz has found out that, surprisingly, Czech authorities themselves are not so sure about what is the answer.
The press office of the Czech government said it is not possible to shut down the internet in the Czech Republic: "No such authority that would be able to limit the access to the internet on a wide scale exists in the Czech Republic."
Only for technical or security reasons
However, deputy director of the Czech Telecommunication Office Marek Ebert shed some more light on the problem. According to him, the internet access can be limited either by police or by the internet service providers themselves.
A provider can shut down the connection for purely technical reasons, as explained in a law on electronic communication.
Police can do the same, by law, in order to prevent immediate threats, such as terrorism. In that case, Czech police can limit the operation of electronic communication devices, networks and services "to the necessary extent and for the necessary time".
This was confirmed also by the press office of the Czech Interior Ministry, which admitted that in 2010 it had been asked to prepare an internet security strategy and create a specialized bureau that would be in charge of the internet security issues. Currently, the ministry cooperates on this with CZ.NIC, an organization that administers the Czech internet domain (.cz). A so-called Computer Security Incident Response Team (CSIRT) is being prepared.
The CSIRT will offer consultation and help to companies that have become victims of internet criminality and need assistance. Also, the team will prepare a document that would explain the technical and legal aspects of cybernetic criminality and terrorism.
Freedom of internet
Egypt was not the first country to shut its internet connection down amid popular protests. Tunisia, where the ongoing Arab world revolt started, did the same a few weeks before Egypt, and Iran prevented its citizens from accessing the world wide web in 2009, after elections criticized by some sectors of the Iranian society as rigged.
Since then, the free access to the internet has became something as a litmus test of political freedom. Last week, US President Barack Obama said that the freedom of internet social networks is a basic part of the freedom of expression as understood in the Western world. However, the US government is preparing its own "kill-switch" cyber-security bill.
