Could the U.S. Ever Shut Down the Internet? Probably Not!

In the wake of the chaos going on in Egypt some are asking if the United States has the capability to theoretically shut down the Internet like Egypt did.

The most simple answer is, yes, the U.S. could, but it would be incredibly difficult.

The main issue is that United States law does not provide anyone in the government the legal authority to order the shutting-down if Internet activity. For the Internet to go dark in America, the President would have to demand all of the Internet providers in the United States, all independent businesses, to block the sending of information through their connections. If even one refused, there would still be Internet.

In addition, there are numerous links from the U.S. to other international Internet providers that would have to be shut down. Essentially the Internet is a network of networks, overlapping distributed networks. To sever all of those connections would be a daunting task that not even the U.S. president has the resources and authority to shut down.

Furthermore, even without the Internet, people would still find ways to communicate, making it, for all practical purposes, impossible for the U.S. to truly be severed from the outside world. At least 3 Senators have proposed legislation to give the President emergency powers to regulate the flow of information through the Internet, but getting the independent Internet providers of the U.S. to cooperate is a different story.