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Facebook Finds Fissures In Egypt’s Firewall

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Angry Egyptian protesters shout anti-government slogans during a protest in Suez, Egypt. Egyptian activists protested for a third day as social networking sites called for a mass rally in the capital Cairo after Friday prayers. (AP)
Angry Egyptian protesters shout anti-government slogans during a protest in Suez, Egypt. Egyptian activists protested for a third day as social networking sites called for a mass rally in the capital Cairo after Friday prayers. (AP)

Facebook may have found a way to break the Egyptian government's blockade of its website. The government there has been blocking several social media sites that demonstrators are using to organize and document protests. Today marks the third day of protests in Egypt calling for the ouster of long-time President Hosni Mubarak.

Facebook is using lessons it learned in Tunisia, where the government allegedly hacked its Web site and tried to steal the passwords and personal information of protesters in that country. Jillian York of Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society monitors the Arab world online and discusses efforts to get around governments' blockades of social media sites.

This segment aired on January 27, 2011.

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