Can the Internet in the U.S. Be Shut Off?

Jordon Robertson (AP Technology Writer) Wrote the article " The day part of the Internet died: Egypt goes dark " which talks about how Egypt and the United States are different in regards to being able to shut down the Internet. In this article, Jordon talks about how the U.S. has too many major backbones to the Internet to be able to easily shut them down. This does not mean that it could be done, but that there would be a lot more work to do so in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. There have been talks from different lawmakers to have a national kill switch in the U.S., but I think there are several things that will ensure that this does not take place.

First, the Internet infrastructure of the U.S. is built mostly by private enterprise. Therefore, major sections of the backbone are owned by civil companies and not the government, which affects a number of items. It would be similar to your friend telling you where to drive your car when you are behind the wheel. They can recommend all they want, but ultimately the choice belongs to you. Private companies would not want to just "turn off" their Internet without major persuasion. In smaller countries the government is responsible for more of the Internet Backbone in that country, so they have more of a say of what happens, what changes can be made etc. Therefore, for those countries, the friend in the passenger seat co-owns and in many cases owns the car, and you are just the driver. So they can either influence where to go if not dictate where to go, as well as the how.

Second, there is the economic impact that turning the Internet off would have to private enterprise. As Americans we have built this great money making machine that allows us to use ATM's everywhere, pay for all items via out debit cards, purchase goods and services via our smart phones, not to mention advertising, product information, schooling and so many other parts of our lives that are tied to the Internet. With the American economy tied to the Internet, shutting the system off even for 24 to 26 hours would cost the country billions if not trillions of dollars. The overall effect could be worse than the 1929 stock market crash.

Third, Americans would scream about their personal rights being violated and the government wanting to silence people. The American people would protest even harder than ever for they would feel that their rights have been violated, and rightfully so. I think that all politicians would fear for their jobs if they were ever linked directly to the shutting down of the Internet. In times of great distress such as what was taking place in Egypt, American might understand why the Internet was shut down, but had it happened to them, they would cry foul and be angry at what took place. Even though lawmakers would like to have a way to "pull the switch" and turn off the Internet if needed, in reality, I do not think it would ever take place.

Between public ownership of the backbone, the economic impact, and the social political suicide to whomever pulled the switch makes the Internet in the U.S. virtually impossible to shut down. Other countries can get away with this behavior, as did Egypt, and Iran, but not here in the U.S. of A. The biggest deterrent to the Internet going down in the U.S. is the economic impact that would be felt around the world. Not only would the economy in the U.S. be in jeopardy, but so it would be for the entire world. Therefore, fellow Americans, don't worry about the Internet being shut off anytime soon in the United States of America.