During the weeks of political unrest in Egypt, the Egyptian Prime Minister, Mubarak, was able to shut down all of its connections with the world. Not only were they able to halt all telephone lines; the government was also able to stop all Internet communications. According to the Wall Street Journal, Egypt relies on five major carriers for their telephone and Internet communications. The government had enough power and influence to turn off all communications when its citizens began protesting. This brings about the question: what if the U.S. government was able to shut down all of its communications from the rest of the world?
If the U.S. government was able to shut off all Internet communications, much of our nation's economy would dwindle as e-commerce and online retail sales are projected to reach to $197 billion in 2011. E-commerce has grown rapidly, replacing many brick and mortar stores through mainly from the appeal of convenience and competitive prices. Many day to day operations of businesses that rely on Internet connectivity, such as shipment notifications and online banking, would halt and would result in problems for the entire nation. The U.S. government could technically shut off some of the Internet by ordering the top Internet providers to do so. However, there are thousands of smaller Internet providers, making it difficult to shut down Internet access entirely in the U.S. Our government's system of checks and balances would also prevent any authoritarian shut down of the Internet. It would be really difficult for the U.S. to shut down all communications in the country.
More Info: CS Monitor, Telegraph
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