Access to the Internet Is a Democratic Right

As national policymakers observed the protests in Egypt unfold, an interesting fact emerged.  Egypt’s President Mubarak ordered the utility companies and Internet Service Providers to restrict Internet traffic, ultimately shutting down access to the Internet.  Consequently, Egyptian citizens had no access to social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook or Google that were being used to organize and mobilize protesters.

Interestingly enough, on February 15, Senators Lieberman and Carper introduced legislation to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to preclude the President from shutting down Internet. The new legislation “explicitly states that ‘neither the President, the director of the National Center for Cybersecurity and Communications or any officer or employee of the United States Government shall have the authority to shut down the Internet.’” 

By way of background, the Telecommunications Act of 1934 contains a section entitled the “War Emergency—Powers of the President,” which grants the President the authority to take over the telecommunications network and airwaves.  Consequently, many legal scholars would argue that this statute grants the President the authority to “shut down the Internet” in the event of war.  A major cyber attack launched by a foreign government could be deemed an act of war, thus triggering the statute.  Although most IT engineers generally agree that it is virtually impossible to shut down access to the Internet within the United States, the point remains that access to the Internet now is viewed as a Democratic right in times of war and peace.