US condemns Egyptian crackdown on social networks

President Barack Obama expressed disapproval on Jan 27 of Egypt's crackdown on the Internet as police battled protestors in the streets of Cairo and other Egyptian cities. During an interview with Steve Grove, the head of news and politics at YouTube, President Obama cited a need for mechanisms that "allow [people] to express legitimate grievances." "There are certain core values that we believe as Americans are universal: freedom of speech, freedom of expression, people being able to use social networking and other mechanisms to communicate their concerns; and that is no less true in the Arab world than it is in the United States," he said.

On Jan 28 President Obama called on Egypt to bring back the Internet and access to social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter that have been suspended this week by the government there. "The people of Egypt have rights that are universal," Obama said. "That includes the right to peaceful assembly and association, the right to free speech and the ability to determine their own destiny. These are human rights and the United States will stand up for them everywhere. I also call upon the Egyptian government to reverse the actions that they've taken to interfere with access to the Internet, with cellphone service and to social networks that do so much to connect people in the 21st century."

"We urge the Egyptian authorities to allow peaceful protests and to reverse the unprecedented steps it has taken to cut off communications," said Sec of State Hillary Clinton. Alec Ross, the adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on innovation issues, tweeted in Arabic to say the government should not obstruct Web access.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said Internet access is a vital tool for protecting basic freedoms.

Rep. David Wu (D-OR) urged Western communications companies to defy orders from Egypt's government to shut down their services.