Alaa abd el Fattah, an Egyptian activist facing a military tribunal for his blogging, explained that Vodafone and other mobile phone and internet service providers knew that the government had enacted a law that gave it the power to demand these providers flip the “kill switch.” They did not fight against this when it was first proposed and when asked by the Egyptian government to hit the switch during the protests in January, they complied promptly and argued they had no choice...It’s easy to just say “the government made me do it.” But it is not a legitimate defence. After freely choosing to enter into this sphere, technology companies cannot then hide behind illegitimate laws that undermine human rights. These companies must defy governments when asked to be complicit in human rights abuses. To do anything less is to betray their users. So what is the solution? Technology companies must challenge laws that suppress free expression, censor information and invade users’ privacy. They should do it because it is the right thing to do.