14 DAY TRIAL // With Syria being cut off from the rest of the world through a new Internet blackout for more than 14 hours, various entities and government officials are showing concern for the situation in the country that is the middle of a civil war.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation group that militates for Internet freedom says that it is highly concerned about the situation.
According to their website, they are afraid that it might be a “deliberate attempt to silence Syria’s online communications and further draw a curtain over grave events currently unfolding on the ground in Syria.”
Considering Twitter played an important part in the Libyan civil war in 2011, the government is probably trying to hinder the opposition’s efforts.
“While heavily censored, monitored, and compromised, the Internet has served as an important window connecting the world at large to Syria, and one way that international observers could connect with individuals on the ground in that country.”
They go on and say that while some activists have access to Internet via satellite links, using them can be dangerous to their lives.
A few messages have resurfaced from the country so far and one of them comes from BBC’s Middle East bureau chief, Paul Danahar.
“For the first time in months, the Internet is completely down in Damascus and has been so since late last night,” he writes on the microblogging platform.
It is unknown how he managed to use the Internet despite the blackout, but the resources mentioned by the Electronic Frontier Foundation might have been used.
Syria went offline at about 18:45 UTC, when a significant drop in Internet traffic was noticed.
This isn’t the first time the country is cut off from the Internet. This has also happened back in June 2011, but also, most recently, in November 2012.
It is yet unclear whether Internet communications are still available within the country.