Egypt Bans Arabic Broadcaster Al-Jazeera

The Qatar-based network has given near round-the-clock coverage to the unprecedented uprising against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and had faced criticism by some government supporters and other Arab leaders as a forum to inspire more unrest. Al-Jazeera's flagship Arabic channel has faced numerous bans and backlash across the Arab world, including bitter complaints this month from the Palestinian Authority over allegations that its reporting favored rival Hamas over leaked documents about peace talks with Israel. Al-Jazeera as well broadcasts in English.

But the ban by Egyptian officials comes amid one of the most pivotal Arab political showdowns in decades and a possible watershed moment for Arab networks expanding their presence on the web and social media. The blanket coverage offers another example of how border-spanning outlets just as Al-Jazeera and the worldwide reach of the Internet have destroyed the once-unchallenged control of media by governments.

The Egyptian ban an act designed to stifle

Al-Jazeera called the Egyptian ban "an act designed to stifle and repress the freedom of reporting by the network and its journalists."

The network promised to continue its coverage, now it was unclear in what form. It said Al-Jazeera journalists would provide updates on Twitter. The network had earlier posted clips from broadcasts on YouTube.

Egypt has moved aggressively to try to control cell phones and the web since protests swelled late last week, inspired by the uprising in Tunisia that drove its long-ruling leader from power. Egyptian authorities cut cell phones and web links in tactics that mirrored the information choke-hold imposed by Iran's security forces in the chaos afterwards last year's disputed elections.

The network is part of a wider effort

The network is part of a wider effort by Qatar's emir, Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, to widen the Gulf nation's political and cultural reach. Qatar has taken a lead on several difficult regional issues, including peace talks for Sudan's Darfur region, and was selected to host the 2022 World Cup.

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