As Violence Escalates in Egypt, Facebook Use Skyrockets Following Internet Return

As violence between protesters and the army with over 700 injured and one reported death, use of Facebook surged following restoration of internet service to the country. Facebook has about 5 million users in Egypt, a fifth of which are mobile users. The number of groups and pages created by users in Egypt has risen sharply. There are about 32,000 groups and 14,000 pages. Protesters have used Facebook to organize their protests. Human rights advocacy groups blamed the recent spate of violence at Tahrir square on the Egyptian authorities.