Syria Cyber Wars

Syria’s Cyber Wars By Amjad Baiazy Academics remained skeptical of social media’s influence on politics until the Arab Spring protests erupted. That movement, which has already brought about a change of governments in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, relied on digital communications tools. Social media has been the platform for an extraordinary advancement in communications among citizens, helping them to share information, mobilize people, and even raise funds. The government in Syria came to differentiate between political dissent and the civil society activism in which the new generation plays a vital role thanks to the use of social media. Unable to control the burst of online activity, Damascus was forced to focus on monitoring key dissenters and human rights activists rather than wasting time and resources on monitoring thousands of youth and civil society activists who are turning to web 2.0 technologies such as Facebook and Twitter to promote change and development.1 Online social media, which virtually anyone can use from home, played a central role in the Syrian uprising and helped break the decades-old government media monopoly. But it helped the Syrian government crack down on activists. 1. 1 S Y R I A ’ S Interview with Bahai, F., Syrian telecommunications engineer, 7 January 2012. C Y B E R W A R S Media Under the Baathist Regime Most intellectuals in Syria reminisce about the “old days” of political freedom, when many political parties were active and when media activity was at its peak. hat era started with Syrian independence in 1946 and ended with the 1963 coup that brought an authoritarian government to power that reined in the media. he media remain a government tool, unable to perform the essential functions of disseminating knowledge and information, and holding authorities accountable for corruption. After the coup, the military authorities closed down independent newspapers. Under a state of emergency, they passed several restrictive laws, including one that gives the state the right to control newspapers, books, radio and television broadcasting, advertising, and visual arts. he government may also confiscate and destroy any work that it deems a potential threat to national security.2 Starting in 1974, the Syrian media became a vehicle to promote the cult of President Hafez al-Assad.3 his system is based on the theory that truth is “not a product of a great mass of people, but of a few wise men in a position to guide and direct their fellows.”4 Over the years, the Syrian government has developed a long list of taboo topics deemed embarrassing or threatening to the regime. For instance, the government does not allow criticism of the president and his family, the ruling Baath Party, the military, or the legitimacy of the regime.5 Until the death of President Hafez Al-Assad in June 2000, Syria’s situation was complicated. Although Syrian military and Baath Party leaders legally banned access to the internet throughout the 1990s, they had difficulty enforcing the ban in the face of attempts by Bashar, the son of the former president and the current president of Syria, to establish an internet society in the last few years of the 20th century.6 A new media law was issued in August 2011 as part of a reform package that aimed to answer the demands of the protest movement. It “was announced the same day the authorities prevented three leading opposition figures, Michel Kilo, Fayez Sara, and Louay Hossein, from crossing the border into neighboring Lebanon to attend a seminar organized by Al-Hurra TV. Officials told them it would be dangerous for them to continue their journey.”7 he new media law, Decree 108/2011,8 states that media are independent and free, restricted only by the constitution. It gives journalists the right to access and conceal information sources. Yet media are prohibited from publishing: 2 • any content that affects national unity and national security, harms the holy religions and beliefs, or incites sectarian or confessional strife 2. Middle East Watch. Syria Unmasked:The Suppression of Human Rights by the Asad Regime, Yale University Press, New Haven, 199, p. 109. 3. N. Ghadbian, “Contesting the State Media Monopoly: Syria on Al-Jazira (sic) Television.” Middle East Review of International Affairs, 5(2), 2001, p. 2. http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue2/jv5n2a7.html. 4. W.A. Rugh, Arab Mass Media, Praeger, Westport, 2004, pp. 23–24. 5. N. Ghadbian, “Contesting the State Media Monopoly: Syria on Al-Jazira (sic) Television.” Middle East Review of International Affairs. 5(2) 2001, p. 2. http://meria.idc.ac.il/journal/2001/issue2/jv5n2a7.html. 6. M. Franda, Launching into Cyberspace: Internet Development and Politics in Five World Regions, Lynne Rienner, Boulder, CO, 2002, pp. 41–70. 7. Interview with Amer M., journalist, 12 February 2012. 8. See appendix. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S • any content that has to do with inciting crimes, acts of violence and terrorism, and inciting hatred and racism • news and information related to the army and the armed forces except those issued by the army and the armed forces and permitted to be published • anything that is prohibited in the General Penal Code, the enforced legislation, and all that is banned from publication by the courts • anything that harms the state’s symbols “Anything that harm the state’s symbols” is vague enough to allow harsh restrictions on political freedoms. While the phrase “content that affects national unity and national security, harms the holy religions and beliefs, or incites sectarian or confessional strife” can be used to suppress investigation and writing on any topic related to society, politics, and religion. he law requires periodicals to be licensed by the prime minister’s office, but does not set any time period for the licensing process. In this way, it saddles publications with more political restrictions and bureaucratic burdens. It also protects journalists registered with the Journalists Union, yet “registering with the union is a tough lengthy process […] not available to all journalists.”9 We have to note, too, that under the Baathist regime producing any creative media requires going through a complicated censorship system. For example producing a movie would require getting permissions from the secret police and Media Ministry, then going through several stages of censorship during the phases of script writing, shooting, and post-production.10 Since the revolt started, Damascus has tried to shut all media offices in the country and deny access to journalists. Al Jazeera’s offices, for example, have been shut, and its journalists have been threatened. One in particular, Dorothy Parvaz, was detained on her arrival at Damascus airport in April 2011.11 One year into the revolt, Syrian TV still calls it a conspiracy, and journalists who witness humanitarian violations by the Syrian regime have been targeted for death by the Syrian regime forces.12 A state TV presenter who defected earlier this year said state TV news is mere propaganda believed by less than 10 percent of the population.13 3 9. Interview with Amer M., journalist, 12 February 2012. 10. Interview with Osama S., movie producer, 1 January 2012. 11. M. Naggar, Media at War in Syria, Doha Center for Media Freedom, 9 May 2011. 12. P. Beaumont, “Were Marie Colvin and Journalists Deliberately Targeted by Syria’s Army?” Guardian, 23 February 2012. 13. “Defecting TV Presenter: We Described Martyrs as Being Traitor Gangs,” Al Arabiya News, 12 February 2012, http:// www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/02/12/194118.html (accessed 1 March 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Mapping Syrian Bloggers and the Syrian Cyber Sphere As of 2011 there were 800 million users registered with Facebook worldwide, while Twitter reached 100 million users.14 Arab users were estimated at 27.7 million on Facebook as the Arab Spring fueled social media growth last year.15 hroughout 2011, the use of social media continued to grow significantly across the Arab world, coupled with major shifts in how it is used. From merely being a tool for socializing and entertainment, social media now infiltrates almost every aspect of the daily lives of millions of Arabs, affecting the way they interact socially, do business, interact with government, or engage in civil society movements. With a critical mass of Arab users in many countries, governments have also begun to recognize social media’s potential to develop more transparent, participatory and inclusive governance models. But while creative and socially beneficial uses of social media abound, they are accompanied by new-found concerns surrounding issues of security, privacy, freedom of expression, and the disruptive uses of social media on foreign policy and diplomacy.16 Social media are used in the Arab world mainly for receiving news and connecting with friends and family, as Figure 1 shows. Figure 1. What Arabs use social media for “What do you use social media for?” (Regional gender breakdown) 100% 90% Men Women 89% 83% 78% 80% 81% 70% 76% 67% 70% 70% 61% 60% 60% 49% 49% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% To get news, To connect with information and family/friends advice on various and like-minded issues individuals Source: 4 For fun/ entertainment To share my opinions on different topics To contribute to community/ activist/political activities For profesional purposes/job finding Arab Social Media Report Vol. 1, No. 3, 2011. 14. “The Role of Social Media in Arab Women’s Empowerment,” Arab Social Media Report, Dubai School of Government, November 2011 15. P. de Leon “Arab Facebook Users Reach 27.7M as Arab Spring Fuels Social Media Growth,” KippReport, 8 June 2011. 16. “The Role of Social Media in Arab Women’s Empowerment,” Arab Social Media Report, Dubai School of Government, November 2011. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Figure 2. Internet users growth in the Middle East and North Africa, 2000–2008 North America Oceania/Australia 127.90% 154.00% Europe 263.50% World Growth Average 290.00% Asia 363.40% Latin America/Caribbean 659.90% Africa 1,030.20% Middle East 0.00% Source: 1,176.80% 200.00% 400.00% 600.00% 800.00% 1,00.00% 1,200.00% Internet Worldstats – 2008. Mapping News Services About 10,000 Syrians join Facebook each month, and accordingly Syrian Facebook members are estimated in the hundreds of thousands today (Fauad 2009). Dozens of dissenters, human rights defenders, journalists, and other civil society actors have used social networks since before the revolt to promote their agendas, operating from inside Syria and abroad. Prominent journalists such as Ziad Haidar17 and Ayman Abdel Nour18 use Facebook to promote their online magazines; Al Watan19 and All4Syria20 respectively. 5 17. Ziad Haidar runs Al Watan Online; http://www.alwatanonline.com/home.php (accessed 11 March 2012). 18. Ayman Abdel Nour runs All4Syria; http://all4syria.info/ (accessed 1 February 2012). 19. http://www.facebook.com/alwatan.sy (accessed 11 March 2012). 20. http://www.facebook.com/All4SYRIA.info (accessed 12 March 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Many news services and youth magazines have started on Facebook, such as Syria Today,21 Syria Story,22 Syria Now,23 Syria News,24 Syrian News Station,25 Shabablek,26 and Syrian Cultural Magazine.27 hese journals specialize in providing news on Syria, and they have a larger margin of freedom than print magazines. “Yet since the uprising started, the majority of these magazines adopted the Syrian government’s propaganda, and lost a big part of their audience eventually.”28 “New social media pages that specialize in delivering underground news on the Syrian revolt became the main source of news for Syrians and foreigners alike.”29 Mapping Political and Civic Groups 6 • Popular Movement for Change:30 defends civil liberties in Syria • Syrian Reformist Middle:31 calls for bringing moderate views into the societal and political mainstream, and for comprehensive political reform based on justice and prosperity for all Syrians • Syrian Observatory for Human Rights:32 monitors and reports human rights violations in Syria • Syrian Social Nationalist Party:33 seeks to unite the Levantine countries and reform Greater Syria • Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression:34 monitors and reports violations of media ethics and freedom of speech, trains journalists, and conducts media projects • Syrian Artists Network35 21. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Syria-Today/178464400722?ref=search&sid=835465531.1985581070..1 (accessed 12 March 2012). 22. https://www.facebook.com/SyriaStory (accessed 12 March 2012). 23. http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Syria+Now&init=quick#!/pages/Damascus-Syria/syria-now/247355137984?ref=se arch&sid=835465531.413515464..1 (accessed 12 March 2012). 24. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Syria-News/152712952829?ref=search&sid=835465531.1985581070..1 (accessed 12 March 2012). 25. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Damascus-Syria/Syrian-News-Station/166351932892?ref=search&sid=835465531. 1985581070..1 (accessed 12 March 2012). 26 http://www.facebook.com/search/?flt=1&q= percentD8 percentA7 percentD9 percent84 percentD9 percent85 percentD8 percentB1 percentD9 percent83 percentD8 percentB2&o=2048&sid=835465531.2777220751..1&s=30#!/ pages/SHABABLEK-MAGAZINE/96258764848?ref=ts (accessed 12 March 2012). 27. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Syrian-Cultural-Magazine-lmjl-ltqfy-lswry/207591297451?ref=ts (accessed 12 March 2012). 28. Interview with Rawan A., Syrian activist and blogger, 1 March 2012. 29. Interview with Zeina A., young journalist and blogger, 12 December 2011. 30. http://www.facebook.com/pages/rk-ltgyyr-lsby-fy-swry/205822696325 (accessed 5 March 2012). 31. http://alwasatmovement.com/; http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=100000739054560 (accessed 5 March 2012). 32. http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/profile.php?id=100000119540213&ref=ts (accessed 20 February 2012). 33. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137699779899 (accessed 20 February 2012). 34. https://www.facebook.com/scm.center (accessed 7 March 2012). 35 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000197494864&ref=ts (accessed 19 January 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S he Jamal al-Atassi Forum for Democratic Dialogue36 was reopened on Facebook in December 2009 after it had been physically closed in 2005. “Our goal is simple,” said Suhair al-Atassi, the forum’s president. “We want to pursue the dialogue that had been interrupted, in order to reach a deeper understanding of our causes and find solutions together.” he forum discusses a weekly topic on democracy, reform, civil society, and human rights moderated by prominent human rights activists. Topics have included nonviolent struggle and independent journalism. An evaluation of the online forum was accessible by members in April 2010 to assess its performance. Some of these movements have between 1,000 and 2,000 members, many of whom repost the groups’ original posts on their individual profiles. Many are willing to run the risk because such forums are the only means dissidents, inside and outside Syria, have to communicate (Aumranan 2010). Mapping Bloggers and Tweeps he recent Arab revolts have decentralized and monopolized media, and many bloggers and social media channels have established a major global presence. Table 1. Popular tweeps in the Arab world Blogle-headger Twitter Name Number of Followers Number of Tweets Wael Ghonim @Ghonim 363,356 6,484 Mona Eltahawy @monaeltahawy 123,015 100,737 Syrian Jasmine @SyrianJasmine 7,873 11,499 Razan Ghazzawi @RedRazan 7,143 2,309 Source: Data retrieved by author on 15 March 2012. According to a study of Arabic-language blogs by Harvard University’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Syrian bloggers are located almost exclusively in Syria and write primarily about domestic issues, including politics. Main recurring themes in Syrian blogs are freedom of speech, corruption, and political reform. Syrians are among the least likely in the Arabic blogosphere to express support for domestic political leaders. he discussion of religion in Syrian blogs is dedicated predominately to personal religious thoughts and experiences, as well as religious poetry and Sunni Islam. he Syrian blogosphere has the second largest concentration of known male bloggers, at 87 percent, while only 13 percent are female. Half of Syrian bloggers are in the 25 to 35 age range, slightly older than other groupings in the Arabic blogosphere and the blogosphere on the whole. Coders found that this group was more critical of Western culture and values than other clusters and one of the least likely to discuss movies and television (Etling, Kelly, Faris, & Palfrey 2009). 36. 7 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=137514459715#!/profile.php?id=100000593289317&ref=ts (accessed 9 March 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Mapping the Syrian Revolt he Syrian Revolution page showed up on Facebook in March; within a few days it had 41,000 fans,37 within a few weeks more than 138,000.38 Today it has more than 438,000 fans. In January 2011 there were more than 500 pages and 250 groups on Facebook dealing with the Syrian Revolt.39 Figure 3. Syrian revolution Facebook fans growth 430k 420k Fans 410k 400k 390k 380k 370k 13. Feb Source: 20. Feb 27. Feb 5. Mar www.Facebook.com. Feras Abed, who works with friends in different countries to document the Syrian Revolution on social media, said, “he Syrian Revolution I believe is the most documented revolution in history.” 8 37. E. Flock, “Syria Revolution: A Revolt Brews Against Bashar al- Assad’s Regime,” Washington Post, 3 March 2011, http:// www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/syria-revolution-revolt-against-bashar-al--assads-regime/2011/03/15/ ABrwNEX_blog.html, (accessed 6 January 2012). 38. “The man behind ‘Syria Revolution 2011’ Facebook page Speaks Out,” Syria Comment website, http://www.joshualandis. com/blog/?p=9340&cp=all (accessed 5 January 2012). 39. Research conducted by the author on www.facebook.com, March 2012. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Table 2. Syrian revolt pages on Facebook Page Title 9 Page Link No. of Fans Syrian Revolution Statistics https://www.facebook.com/SyrianStatistics 11,867 Syrian Revolution Videos https://www.facebook.com/Syrian.R.V 31,220 Syrian Revolution News Round-Ups https://www.facebook.com/pages/Syrian-Revolution-News-Round-ups/ 108855819196476 8,619 Syrian Revolution Photos https://www.facebook.com/syrian.revolution.photos 3,367 The Syrian Revolution Multimedia https://www.facebook.com/pages/ percentD9 percent85 percentD9 percent84 percentD8 percentAA percentD9 percent8A percentD9 percent85 percentD9 percent8A percentD8 percentAF percentD9 percent8A percentD8 percentA7percentD8 percentA7 percentD9 percent84 percentD8 percentAB percentD9 percent88 percentD8 percentB1 percentD8 percentA9- percentD8 percentA7 percentD9 percent84 percentD8 percentB3 percentD9 percent88 percentD8 percentB1 percentD9 percent8A percentD8 percentA9-The-Syrian-RevolutionMultimedia/211283805573425 2,329 The Syrian Revolution Caricature https://www.facebook.com/Syrian.Revolution.Caricature 5,768 The Syrian Revolution Archive https://www.facebook.com/SyrianFree85 1,168 Syrian Videos with English Subtitles https://www.facebook.com/pages/Syrian-revolution-videos-with-Englishsubtitles/175166529205140 1,412 Syrian Revolution Songs https://www.facebook.com/pages/Syrian-Revolution-Song/237808479611132 S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S 89 Table 3. Popular YouTube videos documenting violations Video Title Total Views Video Link Torturing Prisoners in Syria 397,152 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uii8YHORbIc Hama Massacre in 1982 456,431 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEy4nmPGARQ Singer Sings for Syrian Revolt 589,219 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4jH-151v5k Assad’s Army Treads on Children 591,928 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnTTdFC84MQ Government Thugs in Syria A Teacher Joins the Free Syrian Army Source: 1,276,408 247,861 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7tFn0nvF2M Where most popular N/A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4478SAlIbw Data retrieved by author on 15 March 2012. Virtual Life Replacing Real Life Global users spent more than five and half hours on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter in December 2009, an 82 percent increase from the same month the year before. In addition, overall traffic to social networking sites has grown over the past few years.40 Globally, social networks and blogs were the most popular online category ranked by average time spent in December 2009. With 800 million unique visitors, Facebook is the No. 1 global social networking destination. Time on site for Facebook has also been on 40. 1 0 See Nielsenwire Survey http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/global/led-by-facebook-twitter-global-time-spent-on-socialmedia-sites-up82yearoveryear/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed percent3A+Nielse nWireOnlineMobile+ percent28Nielsen+Wire+ percentC2 percentBB+Online+ percent26+Mobile percent29&utm_ content=Google+Feedfetcher (accessed 16 March 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S the rise, with global users spending nearly six hours per month on the site.41 he number of bloggers keeps doubling every five months; somewhere between 50 and 100 million people have started wildly blogging within the past few years.42 he number of internet users in Syria grew from 30,000 in 2000 to 3.9 million users in 2010.43 From December 2008 to March 2011, the number of Twitter users in the Middle East and North Africa exploded, from 1,335 to nearly 1.2 million.44 While the UAE leads the region in numbers and user activity, activity is growing fastest in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.45 his shows a shift in behavior toward spending more time on the internet and suggests that more interaction is taking place via social networks. Given their synergistic relationship with economic, social, and political spheres, communication technologies can, as most societies have experienced, have quite profound effects on human interactions.46 Impact of the Cyber Sphere he internet helps promote what are called alternative or counter public spheres that can offer a new, empowering sense of what it means to be a citizen.47 In Syria, the young generation has been using online social networks as a way of sharing dialogue on civic issues. People from different walks of life started blogging, tweeting, Facebooking, and using the internet as a public sphere alternative; for example one Facebook page created by a university student titled “we want to go forward, not go backward” had 1,339 members in March 2010; the group, which focuses on women’s rights, has hosted debates on topics including interfaith marriage, honor crimes, and discrimination against women in Syrian laws.48 While another group called he National Campaign for Encouraging the Use of Bicycles had 54 members in March 2010.49 heories of democracy have generally treated the communicative interaction among citizens as vital. Talk among citizens is seen as basic to their political participation, to the functioning of the public sphere.50 he internet has been the only medium for stirring debate among citizens in Syria, as all kinds of dialogue are forbidden in real life due to the enforcement of emergency laws. Today, a good deal of civic discussion takes place on the internet, not only in explicit public forums and within varieties of online journalism, but also within the vast networking of activist organizations and social movements. 1 1 41. See Nielsenwire Survey above. 42. B. Walsh, Clear Blogging: How People Blogging Are Changing the World and How You Can Join Them, Apress, New York, 2007, p. 3. 43. http://www.internetworldstats.com/me/sy.htm (accessed 1 March 2012). 44. Spot On Public Relations, Middle East and North Africa Twitter Demographics and User Habits Survey, August 2009, p. 6, http://www.spotonpr.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/TwitterSurveyRep8Sep09.pdf; and Marketing Hub, Facebook and Twitter in MENA: facts and numbers, 2011. http://marketinghub.bayt.com/handpicked-articles/facebook-andtwitter-mena-facts-and-numbers 45. M. Carrington, “MENA Twitter Demographics and User Habits.” Spot on Public Relations, 8 September 2009, p. 3. 46. J. Rodgers, Spatializing International Politics: Analysing Activism on the Internet. Routledge, London, 2003, p. 40. 47. B.D. Loader, P.G. Nixon, and D. Rucht, (eds.) Cyberprotest: New Media, Citizens, and Social Movements, Routledge, New York, 2004. 48. http://www.facebook.com/groups.php?id=835465531#!/group.php?gid=129463217208 (accessed 5 February 2012). 49. http://www.facebook.com/joullanar?ref=mf#!/group.php?v=wall&gid=94642853976 (accessed 6 February 2012). 50. B.D. Loader, et al., New Media, Citizens, and Social Movements. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S New information and communications technologies in general can contribute to new ways of learning, and new strategies for gathering, storing, retrieving, and using information. An essential element in the strategies of social movements, as well as in the empowering of their members, has to do with the many ways in which knowledge and expertise can be spread, even on a global basis. For example, lessons and experiences can be shared with like-minded allies all over the world. Also, the tactical use of information for organizing and coordinating actions, both large and small, provides these movements with an efficacy they could never have had before. Moreover, in the new media environment, traditional hierarchies based on unequal knowledge and information access are challenged. Counter-expertise and counter-information, not least in the form of alternative interpretation of current events and access to important data, modifies to an important degree traditional imbalances of power between elites and protesters.51 Francis Bacon has pointed out that knowledge itself is power. Secrecy gives those in government exclusive control over certain areas of knowledge and thereby increases their power.52 herefore several local and international actors in Syria have been working to provide online resources for activists and individuals working in civil society.53 Hundreds have been active on the internet, relaying information through social networks such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr among others; one example is a video on YouTube that appears to show a police officer receiving a bribe, which has been viewed 366,703 times and received 1,323 comments.54 Clips documenting the repression of Syria’s Kurdish minority have been uploaded to YouTube.55 In countries with repressive regimes, people have been using social networks as the only outlet to mobilize, campaign, and stay in touch with friends and family. A new survey shows that 66 percent of Chinese officials agree that social media is the most influential communications channel in modern China.56 Twitter helped people organize protests and mobilize against the governments in Iran57 and Moldova in 2009. As a parallel information universe, Twitter enables the dissemination of information, mobilization of public opinion, and evasion of government censors. Twitter enabled a wave of protests against the decision, ultimately reversed, by LinkedIn—a social networking website geared toward job-seekers and recruiters—to block its services in Syria.58 Asra Ahmad, a young woman in the Egyptian city of Mahala, created a group on Facebook in April 2006 to defend the rights of poor textile workers there. he group mobilized 70,000 new members, who went on strike. Eventually the government had to respond to the escalating pressure and to the workers’ demands after it had imprisoned Ahmad on charges of leading the workers’ strike.59 In contrast, social networks and blogs in Syria have not had the kind of impact they have had in Iran and Egypt due to the fact that the “internet is still accessible by a relatively small portion of the Syrian population, and it is still limited to the elite,” as a Syrian blogger put it.60 Only 16.4 percent of the Syrian population has access to the internet, compared with 47 percent in Iran as of mid-2011.61 1 2 51. B.D. Loader et al., Cyberprotest: New Media, Citizens, and Social Movements. 52. R. Islam, S. Djankov, and C. McLiesh, The Right to Tell: The Role of Mass Media in Economic Development, World Bank Publications, Washington, 2002. 53. Interview with anonymous, NGO manager in Syria, 1 February 2012. 54. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZgJWmpBgVM (accessed 1 December 2012). 55. T. Pavel, “On-line Social Networks in Syria.” Arab Media Community, 6 November 2009. 56. M. Eaton, “Social media’s influence grows across China.” Marketing-Interactive.com, 2009. http://www.marketinginteractive.com/news/16428 57. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=105679927, (accessed 18 March 2012). http://www.thenation. com/blogs/notion/443634 (accessed 18 January 2012). 58. T. Pavel, “On-line Social Networks in Syria.” Arab Media Community, 6 November 2009. 59. http://socialistworld.net/arabic/2008/05/06strike.pdf (accessed 1 March 2012). 60. Interview with anonymous Syrian blogger, 6 February 2012. 61. http://www.internetworldstats.com/middle.htm#ir (accessed 5 January 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Journalist and analyst Wael Sawah argues that new media played an important role in campaigns, as several were launched in 2009 by civil society actors and people eager for change simultaneously. he National Campaign against Honor Crimes managed to obtain thousands of signatures on an online petition that was sent to the president, the parliament, the prime minister, the justice minister, the Bar Association, and the media. Likewise, he Personal Status Law campaign involved hundreds of individuals, websites, and blogs initiating a spontaneous campaign, which became more and more organized, to withdraw a draft personal status law that was regarded as a huge setback for civil rights and the principle of citizenship, as well as for the rights of women in Syria. he campaign managed to have the draft law sent back for further study.62, 63 A number of smaller campaigns have been taking place since 2006, benefitting from the latest internet and telecommunications technology. Among them were efforts to support a Syrian child who was raped by four men in the northern city of Aleppo, to reduce the cost of mobile phone calls and services, and to keep the country clean. he internet helped provide security to people who organized the campaigns and helped mobilized people to join, as the Syrian emergency laws forbid such activities on the ground. All these campaigns shared certain features: they were all apolitical; they embraced different groups from Syrian society; and they relied on new tools such as blogs, mobile phones, Facebook, and Twitter.64 Political blogging has the potential to be the modern equivalent of subversive underground literature. While its direct reach may not go far, it has the power to stimulate political debate and bring together enough people to, if not shape broader political opinions, at least create broader interest where before there had been only lone voices in the wilderness. And all for the price of an hour at an internet café.65 Some in the Arab world are starting to take blogging as a full-time profession that generates income. Such bloggers give advice on how to promote ideas and relay writings and postings to the widest audience. herefore blogging is feared by many politicians, as it has a growing influence on society and politics. People have more freedom to choose what trends to follow and even to form new movements independent of government censorship and aggression. Web 2.0 technologies have a massive impact on societies. he mere ability to interact massively with people from around the world through these new media tools, after Syria had been isolated from the outside world for decades, could be a huge catalyst for change in Syrian society, especially among the young.66 he high respect exhibited for privacy impresses Arab youth, given the fact that youth privacy is constantly violated on the familial, public, and governmental levels in the Arab region.67 hus social networks affect in particular young people from conservative backgrounds who find in these networks a free-wheeling, yet private, escape from social restriction.68 NGOs have started to use the internet for most of their activities; international organizations have been using the internet to conduct webinars and online trainings with the purpose of reducing travel-associated risks and costs for participants. Several Syrian NGOs, such as Basma for children with cancer and Shams, are active on social networks, while people are volunteering, donating, signing petitions, making loans, organizing events and doing other social actions as we speak. Basma organized most of its events over the internet and is conducting its major fundraising campaigns through Facebook. 1 3 62. Interview with Ali N., women’s rights activist, 29 December 2011. 63. W. Sawah, “The Dialectic Relationship between the Political and the Civil in the Syrian Civil Society Movement,” Arab Reform Initiative, Issue 34, 2009. 64. W. Sawah, “The Dialectic Relationship between the Political and the Civil in the Syrian Civil Society Movement,” Arab Reform Initiative. Issue 34, 2009. 65. R. Seymore, “Middle East Bloggers Set Cat among the Pigeons,” The Middle East Magazine, Issue 338, 2008, p. 62. 66. Interview with Al-Haj M, psychologist, 28 November 2011. 67. W. Fauad, “Facebook and the Arab Youth: Social Activism or Cultural Liberation,” Arab Insight, Winter 2009. 68. Interview with Al-Haj M, psychologist, 28 November 2011. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S he recent revolts in some Arab countries have changed the dynamics of media communications throughout the region. he revolts have nurtured some small-scale but important revolutionary media production that privileges people rather than elite power and rejects establishment norms and structures. hese patterns of “media culture” are forming alongside the existing media structures, which are now not only propaganda tools but also state-controlled rumor mills. Somewhat paradoxically, the deepening repression of the Syrian regime has given rise to brave and radical forms of communication.69 Battling Internet Activity In the Middle East the internet is viewed variously by those in power as politically intrusive, culturally threatening, and an opportunity to reshape Middle Eastern relationships with the rest of the world.70 When Hafez Al-Assad died in June 2000, there were only an estimated 7,000 portals (i.e. internet computers connected to the internet), with all portals connected to a single government-run server that kept track of every password. Syrian authorities restricted licenses to institutions and a few professors and business owners, while internet cafés were not permitted.71 he telecommunications market in Syria is the most regulated in the Middle East and is among the least developed. State-owned Syrian Telecom (STE) owns all telecommunications infrastructure and has made some substantial investment to bring services to rural areas. Limited competition exists, with private ISPs competing with STE in the internet provision market.72 Internet growth in Syria soared by 4,900 percent, far exceeding the global growth rate of 249 percent during the few recent years. he internet penetration rate as of 2008 was 16.8 percent.73 Furthermore, Syria is one of the 12 internet enemies in the world described by Reports Without Borders to have transformed their internet into an intranet by preventing access to a long list of websites.74 State security officials recently told internet cafe owners to record the names and national identification card numbers of their customers, also noting the officials. he government did not comment on the decision, but in the past it has insisted such steps are necessary to prevent “penetration by Israel.” Given the increasing number of blogs criticizing the government, however, there could be a desire to quiet the dissidents in the cafés.75 An official in charge of censoring websites in Syria explained that Facebook had been blocked to protect citizens from protests or uprisings that can be organized through the website to destabilize the country. he Syrian blogger Golaniya writes: 1 4 69. J. Harkin, “The role of social media in the Arab uprisings – past and present,” Westminster University, 2012. 70. M. Franda, Launching into Cyberspace: Internet Development and Politics in Five World Regions, Lynne Rienner, Boulder, CO, 2002, pp. 41–70. 71. M. Franda, Launching into Cyberspace: Internet Development and Politics in Five World Regions, Lynne Rienner, Boulder, CO, 2002, pp. 41-70. 72. Syria–Telecoms, Mobiles, Broadband, and Forecasts, Paul Budde Communication, 1 March 2010. See http://www.budde.com. au/Research/Syria-Telecoms-Mobile-Broadband.html (accessed 25 January 2012). 73. ITU Internet Indicators 2008, International Telecommunications Union, 2008. See http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/icteye/ Reporting/ShowReportFrame.aspx?ReportNam (accessed 20 January 2012). 74. See http://www.rsf.org/en-ennemi26156-Syria.html (accessed 15 March 2010). 75. “Caught in the Net: Syria,” Foreign Policy, 10 April 2008, http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2008/04/10/caught_in_ the_net_syria (accessed 9 February 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S hose who live in Syria know that it’s the country of nothing’s going on except to hang out in old Damascus’ cafés, but recently there has been a cultural awakening; people are starting to organize their interests in concerts, galleries, conferences, plays, screenings, … etc. And Facebook is facilitating a process that is very hard to do in a passive, militarily controlled society. here are no cultural institutions in Syria, no private independent NGOs, and no civic institutions, so who represents the population except the government? Syrian Facebookers are trying now to represent themselves. hose who cannot be activists in a real Syria can be in a virtual Syria.76 he percentage of internet users in Syria grew by more than a hundredfold in nine years, from 0.2 in 2000 to 20.7 in 2010.77 he Syrian Informatics Society, which operates under the patronage of the president, and the state-run communications establishment have monopolized the internet in Syria since its introduction into the country. Aya, the first private ISP in Syria, was licensed in 2005 and few companies followed suit. Yet these private ISP companies have remained under the control of the government, as they buy services only from the government and sell them to the public. he government has owned all communications infrastructure, including for mobile phones and the internet, and it practices systematic censorship on the internet. he infrastructure, designed to serve 200,000 subscribers, is serving 17 times that, which causes repeated internet cuts, network suffocation, and very slow downloads. Even satellite internet is forbidden and requires a security license.78 Jean Chalaby, a media expert at City University in London, divides communication systems into four types— totalitarian, authoritarian, statist, and liberal—and classifies Syria’s as authoritarian, where media systems are shaped by the administration’s communications needs. In order to forestall a legitimacy crisis, such regimes maintain a monopoly on broadcast media and try to control the public sphere79, 80 he formation of a cyber sphere has been a concern for government officials in Syria, who have imported sophisticated technology to monitor it.81 Commercial broadcasting companies can exist on the margin of the system, but they are usually controlled either by regime cronies or cash-rich state companies from outside the media sector. Mass Group, the holder of the biggest media and advertising company in Syria, is owned by Firas Tlas, the son of a former defense minister. Rami Makhlouf, the cousin of the president, controls companies with outright monopolies or semi monopolies in duty free, airlines, telecoms, real estate, oil, construction, and import businesses.82 In such authoritarian regimes, the media advance the policies of the government, which controls the media either directly or indirectly through licensing, legal actions, or financial means. he flow of information is from the top down, conveying messages from the government to the people.83 “With the spread of the internet, the government has been feeling under threat by an unknown territory whose realms are quite invisible and mysterious, and whose impact can cause huge damage in a little time,” says Nawar, a blogger and human rights activist. She adds, “he technologies of web 2.0 are a time bomb for government officials, 1 5 76. Golaniya’s blog: http://ya-ashrafe-nnas.blogspot.com/ (accessed 25 March 2011, since removed). 77. World Bank, World DataBank. See http://databank.worldbank.org/data/Home.aspx, (accessed 15 April 2012). 78. One Social Network with a Rebellious Message, Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, 10 March 2010, (p. 88) http://www.anhri.net/en/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/One-Social-Network-With-A-Rebellious-Message.pdf (accessed 15 April 2012). 79. J. Chalaby, “French Political Communication in a Comparative Perspective:The Media and the Issue of Freedom,” Modern & Contemporary France, 13(3), 2005, p. 277. 80. W.A. Rugh, Arab Mass Media, Praeger, Westport, 2004, pp. 23–24. 81. Interview with Bahai, F., Syrian telecommunications engineer, 7 January 2012. 82. K.Y. Oweis, “Syria’s Makhlouf owes fortune and infamy to Assad,” Reuters, 16 June 2011. See http://www.reuters.com/ article/2011/06/16/us-syria-tycoon-idUSTRE75F7Z420110616 (accessed 17 March 2012). 83. W.A. Rugh, Arab Mass Media, Praeger, Westport, 2004, pp. 23–24. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S who have controlled every medium in Syria tightly for decades and who find the internet like a bunch of sand that can always change its form to escape surveillance.”84 The Syrian Revolt and the New Media War he Arab Spring used social media extensively, amid a global culture of online activism that has made the world realize the power of the internet. Bloggers and activists have become national heroes. hey have been the main engine for organizing protests, lobbying on behalf of prisoners, and reporting news to the outside world in countries where journalists are banned. he revolts have used two main weapons: the relentless determination of protesters and social media outlets. For example, if we examine trends in social media we can see that Syria has had unprecedented presence on social media websites since March 2011. Figure 4. The Syrian presence on Twitter in early 2012 Source: 84. 1 6 www.trendsmap.com. Interview with Nawar; a Syrian blogger and human rights activist, 19 January 2012. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Figure 5. Use of the Syria hashtag on Twitter Source: Data retrieved by author, December 2011. Cyberspace has been the main battlefield between the Syrian government and dissidents. he internet created bridges between dissidents, and it was the most credible means for communications as phones were monitored. An activist from a town in Daraa told me, “I never used the internet before the revolt, but as the revolt started I felt obliged to tell the world what was going on in my town. So in a few weeks I became a reporter for many TV channels. I used Skype and satellite phones to communicate with TV channels, and I used social media to spread news to the entire world. hen I started training others and now we are a group of 25 media activists in my town.” he Syrian government has used people from different backgrounds to promote the government’s agenda. Damascus turned to football player Shareef Shehadeh and dentist Taleb Ibraheem to manage what it called a “crisis.”85 Taleb and Shareef became familiar faces on Arabic media channels and were given titles of political analysts.86 Although Ibraheem and Shehada claimed they have no connection to the Syrian government, reports by Syrian opposition sources say “they have links to the intelligence apparatus.”87 he Syrian state TV director was replaced with Reem Haddad, a staunch supporter of the regime who claimed that 4,000 Syrians who fled to Turkey had gone to visit their families.88 he editor-in-chief of the Tishreen state daily 1 7 85. Speech of Syrian President Bashar al Assad, 10 January 2012. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBkBiaeuznI 86. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vIQ1FrUmzaw (accessed 5 January 2012). 87. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89cy2SMuCHU&feature=related, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlyahJLBXDA& feature=related (accessed 5 January 2012). 88. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8auPlQizIM8&feature=related (accessed 5 January 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S journal was sacked because she said that “those who shot civilians in protests should be brought to justice.”89 Addounia TV hired actors to portray political analysts, protesters, ordinary citizens, and others in support of the Syrian government.90 he Syrian government began allowing citizens in February 2011 to openly use Facebook and YouTube, three years after blocking access to Facebook and other sites as part of a crackdown on political activism. he move came just weeks after activists in Egypt used Facebook and other social media tools to help mobilize tens of thousands for anti-government protests. Activists in Tunisia used the internet in December 2010 and January 2011 to help amass support for the protests and revolt that toppled the government of Zine elAbidine Ben Ali.91 he move was taken right after the Syrian Revolution page showed up on Facebook, yet it was seen by activists as a step toward more surveillance. Unblocking Facebook meant activists could abandon the software they had used to access the website without being detected by the government. In contrast to the Mubarak government in Egypt, which tried to quash dissent by shutting down the country’s entire internet, the Syrian government took a strategic approach to disrupt protests on social media, turning off electricity, internet and telephone service in neighborhoods with the most unrest and then turning them back on if the same neighborhoods stopped protesting against the regime for few days, activists say. With foreign journalists barred from the country, dissidents have worked with exiles using Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter to draw global attention to the brutal military crackdown.92 Figure 6. The cycle of obtaining and circulating news by activists Record videos using mobile phones or witness events on the ground Upload information on PC Use social media outlets to disseminate the news (youtube, twitter, facebook, etc.) Disseminate news via activists using social media outlets or talking to news TV stations Groups that report on the Syrian revolution mushroomed on Facebook, and many formed a coalition of media activists inside and outside the country called Local Coordination Committees. 1 8 89. “Editor in Chief of Tishreen Daily Sacked,” Syria News (2011) See http://syria-news.com/readnews.php?sy_seq=131170 (accessed 17 March 2012). 90. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJLCQlXRaqA, (both accessed 30 December 2011). 91. J. Preston, “Syria Restores Access to Facebook and YouTube,” New York Times, 9 February 2011. 92. J. Preston, “A Strategic Approach: Syria Cracks Down on Facebook,YouTube, and Twitter,” New York Times, 23 May 2011. S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY0FFTeBiSc&feature=related Figure 7. Composition of LCCs Local Coordination Committees: Apart from committees that report news from the field, there are four administrative teams Coordination Committee = reports news on ground to a Facebook group Media Team (10 members): Trained journalists, speakers, and media representatives Political Team (13 members): Draft political statements and provide political analysis Financial Team (seven members): Manage and raise funds, provide logistical support and food to activists Membership Team (six members): Coordinate membership for new committees that want to join Source: Interview with LCC spokeswoman, February 2012. he coordination committees have people in the field who report news to social media activists, who in turn report to Syrian expats and foreign journalists and news networks. Anti-government activists use coded language to report about the situation in Syria, organize protests, and speak about matters related to the uprising to local and foreign media.93 In June 2011, Anonymous, the international hacktivists group, started targeting the websites of the Syrian government, after the latter shut down the internet in Syria.94 Syrian dissidents obtained emails of President Assad and his wife, which were later published by the Guardian.95 he government then blocked the Guardian’s website in Syria.96 More confidential documents were leaked through Al Jazeera by a Syrian official who defected in March 2012.97 1 9 93. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vDsbIQrmnk&feature=related (accessed 30 December 2011). 94. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiFGN2NlFGU&feature=related (accessed 29 January 2012). 95. R. Broth and M. Mahmood, “How the Assad Emails Came to Light, Guardian, 14 march 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/ world/2012/mar/14/how-assad-emails-came-light (accessed 20 March 2012). 96. M. Weaver, “Syria: Assad’s Emails, the Aftermath,” Middle East Live blog, Guardian, 15 March 2012, http://www.guardian. co.uk/world/middle-east-live/2012/mar/15/syria-assad-emails-aftermath-live (accessed 20 March 2012). 97. “Documents Reveal Plans to Isolate Damascus” Al Jazeera, http://www.aljazeera.net/news/pages/1e033d23-caa8-41c7a697-1394608eff05 (accessed 17 March 2012). S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S State agencies started launching distributed denial of service and man-in-the-middle attacks by forging a fake Facebook page to steal activists’ passwords. he security forces have also used torture against captured opponents to obtain the passwords to their Facebook and email accounts. he Assad regime thus supported a network of hackers to establish the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA), which has been launching attacks against Syrian opponents and other targets, including the Al-Jazeera TV website, among others. A new global race has emerged for obtaining electronic surveillance equipment. Annual revenues spent on such devices are between $3 billion and $5 billion, and they are rising dramatically. he Syrian government built a system in 2011 to monitor emails and internet use with equipment manufactured by Hewlett Packard and NetApp Inc., both US-based companies. he equipment, worth more than $7.2 million, was sold to Syria via an Italian company called Area SpA. Germany’s Utimaco Safeware AG (USA) and Paris-based Qosmos SA also supplied technology for the project. European Union sanctions against Syria didn’t bar such sales until December 2011. Furthermore Iran helped the Syrian regime by training government technicians in cyber surveillance. he system includes probes in the traffic of mobile phone companies and internet service providers, capturing both domestic and international traffic. NetApp storage will allow agents to archive communications for future searches or for mapping people’s contacts.98, 99 Each major security branch in Syria operates a round-the-clock information room where young information technology students serve, either as volunteers or as part of their 18-month obligatory army stint. As the state security apparatus jails new opponents, confiscating their computers and torturing them to give up information from their online accounts, the IT students’ task is to scan their accounts and recover deleted information from their confiscated computers. he scan processes are usually random and lengthy. Many IT students take a few weeks to read the details of one email account.100 he Syrian security communications branch, codenamed Branch 225, is the central decision maker in communications security in Syria. Branch 225 has direct contact not only with mobile phone operators, ISPs, and other communications companies, but also with electricity and water companies. Branch 225 is also linked to the Telecommunications Establishment (STE), which is the main communications company in Syria and controls all ISPs and landlines. STE has a central operations room in the Muhajireen neighborhood of Damascus, where the Area SpA surveillance system was to be installed, directly linked to Branch 225. After the Syrian revolt started, Branch 225 blacked out areas that government forces invaded to cover up the operations against civilians and to cut off contact with the outside world.101 Although the Syrian government denied any links to SEA, undercover interviews with SEA members revealed that Damascus has funded SEA members and hired hackers for operations against opponents.102 In a recent interview, cyber activist Osman Deli said many SEA members joined the state secret police. he Syrian government also banned the use of Apple’s Iphone and blocked the WhatsApp application for mobile chat.103 98. V. Silver, “H-P Computers Underpin Syria Surveillance,” Bloomberg, 3 November 2011. http://www.bloomberg.com/ news/2011-11-18/hewlett-packard-computers-underpin-syria-electonic-surveillance-project.html (accessed 9 February 2012). 99. B. Elgin and V. Silver, “Syria Crackdown Gets Italy Firm’s Aid With U.S.-Europe Spy Gear,” Bloomberg, 3 November 2011. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-11-03/syria-crackdown-gets-italy-firm-s-aid-with-u-s-europe-spy-gear.html (accessed 9 February 2012). 100. Interview with anonymous conscripted IT engineer, 1 December 2011. 101. Interview with anonymous STE engineer. 27 January 2012. 102. Interview with Syrian hacker working with SEA. 1 January 2012. 103. R. Emerson, “Syria iphone Ban Reportedly in Effect as Protests Continue,” Huffington Post, 2 December 2011, http:// www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/syria-iphone-ban_n_1126311.html and https://twitter.com/#!/WhatsApp. 2 0 S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Conclusion he evolution of the internet has proved too rapid for governments to keep up with, and no regime has ever succeeded in silencing everybody.104 People in Syria are finding ways to break through censorship; many groups on Facebook send the latest proxy numbers to members with which they detour the censors and open any blocked website, or they use circumvention software to unblock websites. Blogs have been used alongside open electronic forums by thousands of Syrians to launch a counteroffensive against the government’s curbs on public expression. he forums also provide a way for users to share information on how to bypass government blocking of sites through proxy servers that hide the IP of the internet user.105 here are at least seven groups on Facebook that provide web proxies to Syrians, with a total of 20,709 members. Table 4. Groups that provide web proxies to Syrians on Facebook Group Number of Members (Group 1)106 379 107 362 (Group 3)108 1,135 (Group 4)109 10,128 110 (Group 5) 3,816 (Group 6)111 2,415 112 2,474 (Group 2) (Group 7) In 2010, Syrians were the second most frequent users of Opera Mini, an application used to browse the internet on mobile phones.113 According to web designer Rami M., “Opera Mini has a feature that allows users in Syria to surf blocked websites, and its heavy use in Syria shows the desperate need for Syrians to bypass government censorship.” 104. R. Seymore, “Middle East Bloggers Set Cat among the Pigeons,” The Middle East Magazine, Issue 338, 2008, p. 62. 105. K.Y. Oweis, “Syria Expands Iron Censorship over Internet,” Reuters, 13 March 2008. http://uk.reuters.com/article/ internetNews/idUKL138353620080313. 106. http://on.fb.me/I8SdKH (accessed 24 April 2012). 107. https://www.facebook.com/freetheinternet (accessed 24 April 2012). 108. https://www.facebook.com/Proxy4Syria (accessed 24 April 2012). 109. https://www.facebook.com/WorkingProxy (accessed 24 April 2012). 110. http://on.fb.me/IaFjcQ (accessed 24 April 2012). 111. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Last-proxy-for-3G-Syriatel-and-all/144277148921401 (accessed 24 April 2012). 112. https://www.facebook.com/groups/138301932859363/ (accessed 24 April 2012). 113. J.S. von Tetzchner, State of the Mobile Web, January 2010, Opera Software, 25 February 2010. http://www.opera.com/ media/smw/2010/pdf/smw012010.pdf (accessed 29 December 2011). 2 1 S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S More reforms in the IT sector would lead to more internet users and, coupled with international growth in social networks, could advance reforms in the country. Skeptics of the internet’s impact underestimate the influence of cyberspace; there are real benefits that web 2.0 tools have achieved, mainly: • providing a sphere for debate among citizens and for interaction with the outside world • providing a source of independent news • breaking the government’s monopoly over knowledge sources and media • providing many effective tools that support NGOs • securing anonymous ways to form pressure groups, organize protests, and demand civil rights • raising civic awareness and facilitating civil society campaigns Empowering citizens is the biggest gift of social networking, which will in turn have a major impact on the prospects for democratization and good governance. Appendix Decree No. 108 for 2011 on Media Law Rules of law no. 68 for 1951 on the main system of radio that are inconsistent with the new media law will be repealed, along with the 2001 publications law, law on communication with the public on the internet of 2011, and the 2002 legislative decree on private commercial radios. he executive instructions of the issued legislative decree will be issued by the Cabinet upon the proposal of the Information Minister after coordination with the National Council of Information. The Main Principles Media with all their means should be independent and serve their function freely, and are only restricted by the constitution and the law. he practice of journalism is based on the following basic rules: 2 2 • freedom of expression, the main freedoms guaranteed in the constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic, the International Declaration of Human Rights, and the relevant international agreements ratified by the Syrian government • citizen’s right to access information of public interest • the national and pan-Arab values of Syrian society, the responsibility to disseminate knowledge, express the people’s interests, and protect national identity S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S Journalism practiced via various media outlets should take into consideration the following principles: • respecting freedom of expression, which is to be practiced with responsibility and awareness • the right to access and use information while considering the rules stated in the law • commitment to truth, integrity, honesty, accuracy, and objectivity in publishing information • respecting the individual’s privacy, dignity, and rights, and abstaining from violating them in any way • respecting the Press Charter issued by the Journalists Union • preventing monopoly of any media outlet The Rights and Duties he journalist’s freedom is secured by the law, and the journalist’s views should not be a reason to infringe on this freedom except within the limits of the law. It is not permitted for any party to ask a journalist to reveal his information sources except through the judiciary and in a secret session. he journalist has the right to search for and access any kind of information from any party, as well as the right to publish the information after verifying its accuracy and truth, and the reliability of the sources as best as he can. Journalists have the right to attend open public conferences, sessions, and meetings and publish their minutes. Journalists have the right to analyze and comment on the information they get in a way that allows the receiver to distinguish between the analysis and comment, and the genuine facts. No party may impose restrictions that undermine equality of opportunity in accessing information by journalists. Parties and institutions interested in the public concern should facilitate the journalist’s mission in accessing and providing information. he type of information the public parties have the right not to reveal are to be specified in a decision to be issued by the Cabinet. Public parties commit to responding to a journalist’s request to access information within seven days of receipt of the request. In the event that a party does not respond within this period, this is considered an implicit refusal. he administrative judiciary court is to look into the total or partial refusal to the request and give its decision in less than a month. Any attack on a journalist in the line of duty is considered an attack on a public employee. Media outlets are prohibited from publishing the following: • 2 3 Any content that affects national unity and national security, harms the holy religions and beliefs, or incites sectarian or confessional strife S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S • any content that has to do with inciting crimes, acts of violence and terrorism, and inciting hatred and racism • news and information related to the army and the armed forces except those issued by the army and the armed forces and permitted to be published • anything that is prohibited in the General Penal Code, the enforced legislations and all that is banned from publication by the courts • anything that harms the state’s symbols Journalists are not allowed to expose the private life of individuals. Criticizing and publishing information about people who are in charge of public services is not considered a violation of privacy. Journalists are not allowed to receive any money as a reward or aid or any private advantages from any side aimed at persuading the journalist not to publish certain information. Journalists are not allowed to work in commercial advertisements or receive direct or indirect money through publishing advertisements. Media outlets are not allowed to receive donations or aid or any other advantages from foreign sides directly or indirectly. Any increase in advertisement fees published by a media outlet over the fees set for advertisements is considered indirect aid. he National Council of Information specifies the rules for offering direct and indirect support to media outlets. Advertising content should not exceed the percentage specified by the Council of the total published content. Media outlets must allocate no less than 5 percent of advertisement for public benefit for free. Media outlets must commit to preparing the books stated by the trade law. hose books will be subject to financial and administrative inspection in the presence of the owner of the media outlet. The National Council of Information A council titled the National Council of Information will be established in the Syrian Arab Republic enjoying legal personality and financial and administrative independence. he Council is linked to the cabinet, and it regulates the information sector according to this law. he council is composed of nine members, including the chairman and the deputy chairman, who will be chosen according to experience in the field of media, communications, and culture. All members of the council should be citizens of the Syrian Arab Republic. 2 4 S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S he Council’s tasks: • protecting media freedom and freedom of opinion and expression • setting up the rules to organize the media sector according to this law • proposing suggestions and views on legislations related to the information sector and participating in implementing them • setting up conditions and studying applications for granting licenses for media outlets. • boosting and regulating just competition in the information sector • participating in representing Syria in Arab, regional, and international countries, organizations, and unions • preparing and publishing an annual report on the situation of the information sector • setting up the basics and mechanisms for accrediting Arab and foreign correspondents and media outlets that want to practice media activity on the Syrian land Media outlets commit, upon the request of the person concerned, to publish reply and correction for what has been published previously about that person. Licensing and Accreditation Every person who meets the conditions required according to the rules has the right to establish media outlets. Licenses are granted by a decision from the Council. hose whose applications for a license are rejected have the right to appeal to the administrative judiciary court. he license can take effect only after being ratified by the Cabinet. Penalties Editors-in-chief, journalists, and the spokesmen at a media outlet are held accountable for their actions, which form an offense that are punishable according to this law. he owner of the media outlet is responsible, along with the editor-in- chief and the journalist, for compensating for harm caused to others. he penalties for the violations committed by journalists or media outlets include fines. Other offenses that are not stated in this law are subject to the Penal Code and the enforced laws. In the cases of offenses committed by the journalist while he is on duty, with the exception of a case of flagrante delicto, the journalist should not be searched or detained or interrogated before informing the Council or the branch of the Journalists Union concerned to appoint a legal representative for the journalist. 2 5 S Y R I A ’ S C Y B E R W A R S