New York — In what appears to be an act of confidence, the Syrian government has relaxed its grip on Internet restrictions, allowing its citizens Wednesday to openly use Facebook and YouTube, for the first time since a ban was imposed in 2007 blocking access to Facebook and other sites as part of a crackdown on political activism.
Syria’s official fixed line operator ISP, the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE) requested from its licensed distributors to enable access to Facebook and Twitter which should come in effect as of today. The move is seen as an attempt to stave off civil unrest in the country.
The news has been streaming in via Twitter and Facebook stating: “Facebook & YouTube unblocked in Syria as of today. STE asked ISPs to remove the firewall”.
Wednesday’s decision comes in the wake of a recent numerous mass anti-government protests and social unrest that are embroiling throughout several Arab nations against repressive regimes which has been creating instability in repressive countries, which President Bashar Al-Assad told the Wall Street Journal last week that Syria did not have to worry about.
“Syria is stable. Why?” Mr. Assad said. “Because you have to be very closely linked to the beliefs of the people. This is the core issue. When there is divergence…you will have this vacuum that creates disturbances.”
Tunisia and Egypt have seen their streets filled with protests and demonstrations. They share similar traits with Syria’s government — namely authoritarian regimes. Activists in Tunisia used the Internet in December and January to help amass support for the protests and revolt that toppled the government of Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, while Egypt’s president is staunchly vowing to not succumb to public protest.
Ever since employing the social platforms by Syrian opposition (characterized by the Syrian Kurdish minority) in 2007, YouTube & Facebook have been branded as unfriendly to the Syrian regime (and in effect the Syrian people), which forced Syrian people to reach them using proxies and VPNs.
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However, Syria’s decision was greeted by officials from the State Department with a note of caution, given the country’s restrictions on the freedom of speech and freedom to assemble, warning that the government might have lifted the ban to more closely monitor people and activity on social networking sites.
Abdulsalam Haykal, a leading Syrian technology entrepreneur, praised the Syrian government’s decision as a reflection of a commitment to build confidence with the country’s young people. “The power of social media is an important tool for increasing participation, especially by engaging young people,” he said.
“Welcome positive move on Facebook & YouTube in #Syria but concerned that freedom puts users at risk absent freedom of expression & association,” tweeted Alec Ross, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s senior adviser for innovation.
Under Facebook’s terms of service, users are required to use their real identities and not hide behind false or anonymous accounts, a violation that can lead to Facebook’s closing an account.
Debbie Frost, a spokeswoman for Facebook, said Wednesday that the company was not considering changing or re-evaluating its terms of service in those countries where some users were concerned about revealing their full identity for security reasons.
“Facebook has always been based on a real-name culture,” she said. “This leads to greater accountability and a safer and more trusted environment for our users. It is a violation of our policies to use a fake name or operate under a false identity.” Ms. Frost said the company provided multiple options for users to communicate privately through groups and to read updates on a Facebook page without having to sign up for it.
A spokesperson for YouTube declined to comment on the lifting of the ban, but pointed to Google’s Transparency report, which shows a jump in traffic to YouTube.com from Syria.
According to D-Press, a pro-government Syrian Web site, there are about 200,000 Syrians currently using Facebook.