Facebook Officials Keep Quiet on Its Role in Revolts
Tara Todras-Whitehill/Associated Press
Protesters took photos and video at Tahrir Square in Cairo. Facebook has become one of the main tools for activists to mobilize protests and share information.
By JENNIFER PRESTON
Published: February 14, 2011
Multimedia
Related
U.S. Policy to Address Internet Freedom (February 15, 2011)
Egypt Army Sets 6-Month Blueprint, but Future Role Is Unclear (February 15, 2011)
Iran Uses Force Against Protests as Region Erupts (February 15, 2011)
Ed Ou for The New York Times
Egyptian youths posted video they shot in Tahrir Square. Social media tools like YouTube and Twitter also played major roles.
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The social media giant finds itself under countervailing pressures after the uprisings in the Middle East. While it has become one of the primary tools for activists to mobilize protests and share information, Facebook does not want to be seen as picking sides for fear that some countries — like Syria, where it just gained a foothold — would impose restrictions on its use or more closely monitor users, according to some company executives who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were discussing internal business.
And Facebook does not want to alter its firm policy requiring users to sign up with their real identities. The company says this requirement protects its users from fraud. However, human rights advocates like Susannah Vila, the director of content and outreach forMovements.org, which provides resources for digital activists, say it could put some people at risk from governments looking to ferret out dissent.
“People are going to be using this platform for political mobilization, which only underscores the importance of ensuring their safety,” she said.
Under those rules, Facebook shut down one of the most popular Egyptian Facebook protest pages in November because Wael Ghonim, a Google executive who emerged as a symbol of the revolt, had used a pseudonym to create a profile as one of the administrators of the page, a violation of Facebook’s terms of service.
With Egypt’s emergency law in place limiting freedom of speech, Mr. Ghonim might have put himself and the other organizers at risk if they were discovered at that time. Activists scrambled to find another administrator to get the page back up and running. And when Egyptian government authorities did figure out Mr. Ghonim’s role with the Facebook page that helped promote the Jan. 25 protest in Tahrir Square, he was imprisoned for 12 days.
Last week, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, urged Facebook to take “immediate and tangible steps” to help protect democracy and human rights activists who use its services, including addressing concerns about not being able to use pseudonyms.
In a letter to Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, Mr. Durbin said the recent events in Egypt and Tunisia had highlighted the costs and benefits of social tools to democracy and human rights advocates. “I am concerned that the company does not have adequate safeguards in place to protect human rights and avoid being exploited by repressive governments,” he wrote.
Elliot Schrage, the vice president for global communications, public policy and marketing at Facebook, declined to discuss Facebook’s role in the recent tumult and what it might mean for the company’s services.
In a short statement, he said: “We’ve witnessed brave people of all ages coming together to effect a profound change in their country. Certainly, technology was a vital tool in their efforts but we believe their bravery and determination mattered most.”
Other social media tools, like YouTube and Twitter, also played major roles in Tunisia and Egypt, especially when the protests broke out. But Facebook was the primary tool used in Egypt, first to share reports about police abuse and then to build an online community that was mobilized to join the Jan. 25 protests.
In recent weeks, Facebook pages and groups trying to mobilize protesters have sprung up in Algeria, Bahrain, Morocco and Syria. Hashtags on Twitter have also helped spread the protests, which extended to Algeria over the weekend and to Bahrain, Iran and Yemen on Monday.
“This is an incredible challenge and an incredible opportunity for Facebook, Twitter and Google,” said Ethan Zuckerman, a senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, where he works on projects about the use of technology and media in the developing world. “It might be tougher for Facebook than anyone else. Facebook has been ambivalent about the use of their platform by activists.”
Unlike Vodafone and other telecommunications carriers, which often need contracts and licenses to operate within countries, Facebook and other social networks are widely available around the world (except in countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Iran, which have restricted access) and encourage the free flow of information for anyone with access to the Internet.
In a speech that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is scheduled to deliver Tuesday, she will once again emphasize that Internet freedom is an inalienable right. In recent weeks, the State Department has been sending out Twitter updates in Arabic and began sending updates in Persian over the weekend.
Twitter and YouTube, which is owned by Google, have been more willing to embrace their roles in activism and unrest, Mr. Zuckerman said.
After the Internet was shut down in Egypt, Twitter and Google actively helped protesters by producing a new service, speak2tweet, that allowed people to leave voice mail messages that would be filed as updates on Twitter. Biz Stone, one of Twitter’s founders, used it as an opportunity to emphasize the positive global impact that comes with the open exchange of information.
When the Internet was back up, YouTube, working with Storyful, a social media news curation service, took the thousands of videos pouring in from the protests in Tahrir Square to help people retrieve and share the information as quickly as possible onCitizenTube, its news and politics channel.
Facebook has taken steps to help protesters in Tunisia after government officials used a virus to obtain local Facebook passwords this year. The company rerouted Facebook’s traffic from Tunisia and used the breach to upgrade security last month for all of its more than 550 million users worldwide; at the same time, it was careful to cast the response as a technical solution to a security problem. There are about two million Facebook users in Tunisia and five million in Egypt.
Debbie Frost, a spokeswoman for Facebook, said the company was not considering changing its policy requiring users to use their real identities, which she says leads to greater accountability and a safer environment.
“The trust people place in us is the most important part of what makes Facebook work,” she said, adding that the company welcomed a discussion with Mr. Durbin and others who have an interest in this matter. “As demonstrated by our response to threats in Tunisia, we take this trust seriously and work aggressively every single day to protect people.”
Mr. Durbin has urged Facebook to join the Global Network Initiative, a voluntary code of conduct for technology companies, created in 2008, that requires participating businesses to take reasonable steps to protect human rights.
Andrew Rasiej, founder of the Personal Democracy Forum, said that the people and companies behind the technology needed to be more transparent about what information they collect, and that they needed to develop consistent policies to allow people to opt in or out of their data collection systems. “We must have a right to protect the privacy of information stored in the cloud as rigorously as if it were in our own home,” he said.
A version of this article appeared in print on February 15, 2011, on page A10 of the New York edition.
12 February 2011 Last updated at 05:12 GMT
Egypt crisis: President Hosni Mubarak resigns as leader
Vice-President Omar Suleiman made the announcement on state television
Hosni Mubarak has stepped down as president of Egypt, after weeks of protest in Cairo and other cities.
The news was greeted with a huge outburst of joy and celebration by thousands in Cairo's Tahrir Square - the heart of the demonstrations.
Mr Mubarak ruled for 30 years, suppressing dissent and protest, and jailing opponents.
US President Barack Obama said that Egypt must now move to civilian and democratic rule.
This was not the end but the beginning and there were difficult days ahead, the US president added, but he was confident the people could find the answers.
"The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard," Mr Obama said. "Egypt will never be the same again."
"They have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day."
'God help everybody'
Announcing Mr Mubarak's resignation, Vice-President Omar Suleiman said the president had handed power to the army.
Mr Suleiman said on state TV that the high command of the armed forces had taken over.
"In the name of God the merciful, the compassionate, citizens, during these very difficult circumstances Egypt is going through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to step down from the office of president of the republic and has charged the high council of the armed forces to administer the affairs of the country," he said.
"May God help everybody."
Later an army officer read out a statement paying tribute to Mr Mubarak for "what he has given" to Egypt but acknowledging popular power.
"There is no legitimacy other than that of the people," the statement said.
The military high command is headed by Defence Minister Mohamed Hussein Tantawi.
US diplomatic cables published by Wikileaks described Field Marshal Tantawi as "aged and change-resistant", but committed to avoiding another war with Israel.
Mr Mubarak has already left Cairo and is in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh where he has a residence, officials say.
In Cairo, thousands of people gathered outside the presidential palace, in Tahrir Square and at state TV.
They came out in anger following an address by Mr Mubarak on Thursday. He had been expected to announce his resignation but stopped short of stepping down, instead transferring most powers to Mr Suleiman.
"The people have brought down the regime," they chanted in reaction to the news of his eventual resignation less than 24 hours later.
Opposition leader Mohamed ElBaradei said: "This is the greatest day of my life."
"You cannot comprehend the amount of joy and happiness of every Egyptian at the restoration of our humanity and our freedom."
The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's banned Islamist opposition movement, paid tribute to the army for keeping its promises.
"I salute the Egyptian people and the martyrs. This is the day of victory for the Egyptian people. The main goal of the revolution has been achieved," said the Brotherhood's former parliamentary leader, Mohamed el-Katatni.
Ayman Nour, Mr Mubarak's rival for the presidency in 2005, described it as the greatest day in Egypt's history.
"This nation has been born again. These people have been born again, and this is a new Egypt," he told al-Jazeera TV.
Meanwhile Amr Moussa, a former Egyptian foreign minister, announced that he would leave his post as secretary general of the Arab League "within weeks", the Egyptian news agency Mena reported. He hinted that he might stand for president.
The BBC's Jon Leyne in Cairo said the announcement caught everyone by surprise: all over the city, drivers honked their horns and people fired guns into the air.
But the army takeover looks very much like a military coup, our correspondent adds.
The constitution has been breached, he says, because officially it should be the speaker of parliament who takes over, not the army leadership.
'Historic change'
There was jubilation throughout the Middle East and North Africa, including in Tunisia, where people overthrew their own president last month.
For the Arab League, Mr Moussa said events in Egypt presented an opportunity to build a national consensus.
Meanwhile, Iran described the recent events as a "great victory".
A senior Israeli official expressed the hope that Mr Mubarak's departure would "bring no change to its peaceful relations with Cairo".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he respected the "difficult decision" taken in the people's interests, and called for an "orderly and peaceful transition".
European Union leaders reacted positively to the news of Mr Mubarak's resignation.
Foreign policy chief Baroness Ashton said the EU "respected" the decision.
"It is important now that the dialogue is accelerated leading to a broad-based government which will respect the aspirations of, and deliver stability for, the Egyptian people," she said.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said this was a "really precious moment of opportunity to have a government that can bring the people together", and called for a "move to civilian and democratic rule".
German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed the "historic change" in Egypt.
US Vice-President Joe Biden said Egypt had reached a pivotal moment in history.
The anti-government protests that began on 25 January were triggered by widespread unrest in Egypt over unemployment, poverty and corruption.
They followed a popular uprising in Tunisia which brought about the downfall of President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.
Egypt's Mubarak pledges to stay
Vows to remain until September elections
Last Updated: Friday, February 11, 2011 | 1:58 AM ET
CBC News
Anti-government protesters hold their shoes as they react in Cairo's Tahrir Square to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak's televised statement on Thursday that he won't step down. (Tara Todras-Whitehill/Associated Press)Embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak says he will stay in office until the scheduled presidential election in September, drawing the outrage of thousands of anti-government protesters demanding he resign after 30 years in power.
Mubarak said he will shift some powers to his vice-president.
"I will not nominate myself for the next presidential elections … so that powers will be transferred to whoever the electorate chooses in fair and square elections," Mubarak said Thursday night as translated from a live state television broadcast.
While he conceded that the demands of the protesters were just and legitimate, he refused to step down.
Instead, he promised to delegate some presidential powers to Vice-President Omar Suleiman. The move means he retains his title of president and ensures regime control over the reform process, falling short of protester demands.
"I have seen that it is required to delegate the powers and authorities of the president to the vice-president as dictated in the constitution," Mubarak said near the end of his address. The article is used to transfer powers if the president is "temporarily" unable to carry out his duties.
In his rambling speech to the "sons and daughters" of Egypt, Mubarak also said he would:
- Lift hated emergency laws when the security situation permits.
- Punish those behind violence over the past two weeks and offer condolences to the families of those killed.
- Request six constitutional amendments demanded by the protesters.
Mubarak blamed the uprising on "foreign intervention," and urged protesters to ignore it.
"Egypt will come through this crisis. Its people will not be broken. It will stand on its feet again," he said.
In a later speech on state television that was translated into English, Suleiman called on Egyptians "to unite, think rationally and look forward."
Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman will take over some powers from President Hosni Mubarak. (Egypt TV/APTN/Associated Press)He urged Egyptians to go back to work and school and not to pay attention to satellite television, which he said was fomenting the protests. Suleiman said he is committed "to do whatever it takes" to ensure an orderly transition to power.
"The door is still open to dialogue," he said. "The people of Egypt are heroes. They will not go after the agenda of chaos."
Demonstrators enraged
Just hours before Mubaraks' speech, Egypt's military announced on national television that it had stepped in to secure the country and promised protesters that all their demands would soon be met.
However, protesters in Tahrir Square listening to Mubarak's speech live, reacted with stunned silence and then anger, chanting, "Leave, leave," and "Get out, get out."
Some protesters slapped their hands to their foreheads in anger, while others cried or waved their shoes in the air in a sign of contempt.
CBC's David Common said an estimated 2,000 protesters marched on the presidential palace — which is ringed by military units — early Friday morning to repeat their demands for Mubarak to step down and leave Egypt. Demonstrators also marched on the offices of Egyptian state television, which is guarded by the military with barbed wire and tanks.
"They are the liars," the crowd shouted, pointing at the building, chanting, "We won't leave, they will leave."
Organizers called for even larger protests later Friday. Protest spokesman Mohammed Mustapha said "huge numbers" of protesters were expected.
Crowds had already started streaming into Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the uprising, on a foggy Friday morning. Other protesters camped near Cairo's state TV building, the presidential palace, parliament and the cabinet building in a sign that protests would expand to other parts of the city.
On his Twitter account, Mohamed ElBaradei, the former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the man regarded by some as a possible successor to Mubarak, said the military should intervene.
"Egypt will explode. Army must save the country now," ElBaradei tweeted.
Both Egypt's vice-president and foreign minister have said the only options are negotiations or a military coup d'état, reported the CBC's Nahlah Ayed from Cairo.
"So there's been a lot of talk about the possibility of the army taking over," Ayed said. "The other option, of course, is a crackdown. That would be very bloody and costly."
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have called for Mubarak's ouster, camping out in Tahrir Square for days and clashing with the Egyptian regime's backers. The protests have now gone on for 17 consecutive days.
U.S. President Barack Obama said in a statement that it is not yet clear that the transition of power "is immediate, meaningful or sufficient."
"Too many Egyptians remain unconvinced that the government is serious about a genuine transition to democracy, and it is the responsibility of the government to speak clearly to the Egyptian people and the world," he said.
Obama said the Egyptian government "must put forward a credible, concrete and unequivocal path toward genuine democracy, and they have not yet seized that opportunity."
(With files from The Associated Press)Egypt's Mubarak names first VP in 30 years
Updated
President Hosni Mubarak has steadfastly refused to name a vice-president since he came to power in 1981. (REUTERS : Paul Hackett)
Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak has named intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as his first ever vice-president as he struggles to regain control of the country.
Unrest in the troubled country is escalating, prompting the Australian Government to considering upgrading its travel warning to Egypt.
State television showed images of new vice-president Mr Suleiman, an army lieutenant general, saluting his close friend Mr Mubarak after taking the oath of office.
Mr Suleiman has been labelled the most powerful spy chief in the Middle East and the sharply dressed and well-groomed general was for years a highly enigmatic figure for the world at large.
Mr Mubarak had promised an overhaul of his administration and has given the task of forming a new government to former aviation minister Ahmed Shafiq, who is now prime minister.
Tens of thousands of protesters remain on the streets in Egypt defying a curfew and army warnings.
Central Cairo is a picture of anarchy for yet another night. Egyptian police, who were the target of angry mobs the night before, have all but abandoned the streets and the army is present only in small numbers.
Demonstrators clashed with security personnel outside the interior ministry and there are reports of casualties.
In all, at least 62 people have been killed since violence began on Tuesday. Both protesters and police are among the dead.
Eyewitnesses say live rounds have been used in clashes in Alexandria.
There have also been reports of looting in cities across Egypt, with people forming groups to protect their property.
One Alexandria resident told journalists there were no longer any police on the streets of the city.
"The first priority for us now is protect our properties," the resident said.
"Criminals in groups [are] trying to steal everything from houses, cars, shopping [centres], everything."
The Egyptian leader has now sacked his government and appointed a new one, but many Egyptians are demanding more: Mr Mubarak's own resignation, and free and fair elections for the first time in decades.
Opposition leader Mohammed ElBaradei says dismissing the cabinet is not enough to end a revolt against Mr Mubarak's rule.
"He either didn't get the message, [or] if he got the message and pretended he hadn't heard the Egyptian people, then it's an insult to the intelligence of every Egyptian, an insult to a legitimate demand," he said.
Travel warning
The current advice is for Australians to reconsider their need to travel to the country, but Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd says that could soon be upgraded.
"We remain deeply concerned about the state of political turmoil and stability, not just on the streets of Cairo but in other major cities in Egypt as well," he said.
"We in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Government more broadly are examining carefully the possibility of further upgrading that warning as well, depending on developments in the immediate period ahead."
He says at this stage there is no information to suggest Australians have been caught up in the violence, or need help to leave the country.
"The embassy in Cairo has been actively contacting registered Australians, of whom there are more than 800 in Egypt," he said.
"On top of that, [it has been] contacting the major tourist hotels where Australians travelling to Egypt would normally be accommodated.
"This is a difficult task because mobile telephone communications have been disrupted from time to time."
International pressure
Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany have urged Mr Mubarak to refrain from violence against unarmed protesters and work to create conditions for free and fair elections.
In a German-language statement released in Berlin, the European leaders said they were "deeply worried about the events in Egypt".
The trio appealed to Mr Mubarak to respond to his people's grievances and take steps to improve the human rights situation in the country.
"We recognise the balanced role that president Mubarak has played for many years in the Middle East. We call on him to adopt the same moderate approach to the current situation in Egypt," the statement said.
"Human rights and democratic freedom must be fully recognised, including freedom of expression and assembly, and the free use of means of communication such as telephone and internet.
"The Egyptian people have legitimate grievances and have put great hope in a just and better future."
- ABC/Reuters
First posted
全球觀點－食物通膨危機，不是危言聳聽
彭博社專欄作家皮賽克（William Pesek）撰文指出，食物價格節節上揚引發的危機不容忽視，就如曾準確預測美國金融危機的紐約大學經濟學教授盧比尼（Nouriel Roubini）所言，食物價格和能源成本增加，正造成新興市場通膨惡化，其嚴重程度足以衝擊政府、甚至壓垮政府。
皮賽克認為，盧比尼並非危言聳聽。他指出，全球食物儲量、人類對食物需求急速增加、氣候異常以及零利率等因素，都將導致食物價格走高。
皮賽克表示，據聯合國估算，2010年全球政府在進口糧食上，至少斥資1兆美元，大約較2009年高出20％。食物價格走升的趨勢還只是個開端，在乳品、糖、穀物成本大幅上漲的帶動下，今年1年全球糧食價格將升抵新高峰。
預料食物通膨對亞洲的衝擊可能最大，亞洲人口數量急速上升，預料亞洲未來4年將增加1.4億人，也使得總數將接近30億人，糧食的需求也隨之大增。此外，亞洲飲食日漸西化，也是在食物成本高漲背後隱藏的原因之一。人口快速成長、收入增加、都市化都使得人們的飲食習慣改變。
皮賽克指出，食物價格急漲的危機，可能造成亞洲債券市場前景黯淡。為了抑制價格漲幅，亞洲領導人紛紛提高補貼以及降低食物進口關稅，但這些措施的功效可能有限。
中國需求不斷增加將買下全球更多的食物，隨著人民幣升值，意味中國買方出價能力大增，預料國際貿易緊張將是不可避免的結果，同時也顯示政府對食物補貼的成效有限，因為只要需求量再增，價格就會再漲。
皮賽克示警，食物價格飆漲亦可能引發社會動盪危機。埃及事件就是一個活生生的案例，它凸顯出，生活在邊緣地帶的人們，可能因此被激出急於改變現狀的強烈意念，尤其Twitter、YouTube、Facebook社交網路時代來臨，要壓制輿論的憤怒並不容易。
同時氣候問題也將加重食物通膨惡化，像是中國這個全球最大的小麥產國，現在也面臨嚴重乾旱，恐導致中國13億人口與牲畜的飲用水短缺。
節節攀升的糧食價格將是中國央行棘手難解的問題，但也是印度、印尼、菲律賓、甚至是巴基斯坦或越南等較未開發的經濟體所需面臨的挑戰。
以全球人口第4大的印尼為例，食物價格上漲將，使得該國政府難以提供人民更好的生活水準，也難以縮減貧富差距。這樣的情況也會發生在一些人口增幅高於國內生產毛額（GDP）成長的國家，像是菲律賓。
對於那些每天僅靠著幾美元生存的家庭來說，物價大幅波動實在令人難以承擔。倘若你有一半的收入都用於吃飯這件事情上，一旦食用油、小麥、調味品上漲10％，就足以讓人無法喘息，更別提生活上還得支付房租、勞健保等費用。
皮賽克表示，政府必須致力對付此波通膨，即使要付出遭信評機構調降評等的代價，也在所不惜。否則，食物價格上漲恐怕會引發更大的危機，後果可不是那些投資人或持有選票的人所能承擔的。（陳怡均整理）
2011-02-15 01:00/工商時報/彭博社專欄作家皮賽克
分析家看埃及變天／革命火種 人增多糧價漲〔編譯管淑平／綜合報導〕
埃及發動人民力量扳倒總統穆巴拉克，分析家指出，人口大幅成長和糧食不安全是催化這場革命的隱性因子，大批青年失業碰上糧價高漲帶來的糧食不安全、貧窮引發的民怨，造就一場完美風暴，突尼西亞、阿爾及利亞和葉門也有類似情況。
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