(CNN) -- Egyptians have overcome their fear of the police state. It is a seminal moment in the history of the Arab world's largest and most influential nation.
The upheaval underscores a grim reality for authoritarian regimes the world over: The electronic dam has burst and with it, their ability to control the flow of information.
There is a direct line between this revolt and the Arab media revolution launched 15 years ago. One might even argue it is the inevitable result. The demand for change has become an electronic virus, seeping into nations through every unblocked pore.
The Mubarak government may have taken the unprecedented step of severing the internet and pulling the plug on cell phone coverage in strategic parts of the country, but anyone with access to a satellite dish -- and that's most Egyptians -- has a ringside seat to the live drama playing out on the streets and on TV screens around the world. Inspired, many ordinary Egyptians are leaving the safety of their homes to join the demonstrators.
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