Morocco and the online revolution.

In an article, "Morocco's online dissent -Government critics go online to express their opinions", Erik German, from GlobalPost, discusses the impact of Morocco's on-line revolution. Here is an edited excerpt:

When the Moroccan government censored two magazines for publishing an opinion poll on King Mohammed VI last month, it did so the old-fashioned way: it seized and destroyed all copies of the publications.

But silencing dissent about the censored poll — which showed a 91 percent approval rating for the monarch — proved impossible in the digital age.

Within hours of the seizure, a chorus of Moroccan bloggers denounced the move and a fast-growing group sprang up on Facebook, "Je suis un 9%" ("I am a 9 percent"), referring to the minority of polled Moroccans who voiced disapproval of the king. While users here mostly employ the country’s widespread broadband internet service to socialize, Morocco's online journalists say this event proves the web is poised to become a new forum for free speech in Morocco.

The internet - "a vector for change".

Online journalist Rachid Jankari, who writes for several Moroccan websites, said the post-censorship backlash in cyberspace marks the beginning a new era in for free speech here. “Today the internet has become a vector for change in Morocco, to discuss, to denounce corruption and to talk about civil rights,” Jankari said. “You don’t see it in the streets or the cafes. You have to be connected to feel it. But it’s starting to grow.”

The foundations for such growth are quickly being put in place. The number of internet subscribers in Morocco has nearly doubled since 2007, from 430,000 to 830,000, according to the latest data released by the Morocco’s national telecommunications agency.

Morocco also boasts good connections — the fastest download speeds in Africa, according to the broadband tracking site Speedtest.net — and a burgeoning cyber cafe industry selling access to those who don’t have it at home. Not to mention a growing Facebook community that’s currently 124,000 members strong.

“I actually think that’s a low figure,” said Ghassane Hajji, the man in charge of social media outreach for the U.S. embassy in Rabat. He estimates as many as 800,000 Moroccans are regular Facebook users who’ve simply registered with networks outside the country. “Morocco is the leading Arab country when it comes to the use of Facebook,” he added.

But Hajji says it will take time before the Moroccan blogosphere becomes as vast, varied and politically vocal as those in Western countries. “In Morocco the internet is used more to socialize, to keep in touch with friends,” he said. “At this point Moroccans are more consumers than creators on the internet.”

The full article can be found here: GlobalPost