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A written summary accompanies this film; closed captions are not yet available. Artwork is illustrative.
You bought the phone. You pay the bill. Who gets to decide whose voice comes through it?
In January 2011, during the protests in Egypt, Vodafone says it received an order to suspend mobile service in specified areas. On 1 February came a text about a pro-Mubarak march. Vodafone says it restricted circulation and refused to send that message under its own name.
One network let people talk to each other. It also gave the state a way to speak directly to them. On Watch This Space we follow those connections across borders. Who gave the order? Who could push back? Who lived with the result?
Source: Vodafone Group, 22 February 2011, Response on Issues Relating to Mobile Network Operations in Egypt.
https://media.business-humanrights.org/media/documents/files/media/documents/vodafone-statement-re-egypt-22-feb-2011.pdf
Conceptual artwork and original synthetic narration.
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