The EU should be bolstering the blogosphere

Al Sharkawi and Al Shaer, two democracy activists in Egypt who used the internet to coordinate activities, were detained for several weeks last year following their participation in a peaceful pro-reform protest. They were finally freed last July, but their plight highlights the dangers faced by bloggers across the Middle East.

Such events also underscore the growing importance of the blogosphere, the threat regimes sense emanating from online activism and the blogosphere's need for Eu...