The Arab Spring of 2011 showed the world just how important new technologies like smartphones and new platforms like Twitter and Facebook had the potential to be essential for political organization. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the Middle East also seems to be the area with some of the fastest growing internet censorship. (Outside of China, of course. No one has yet to beat that Great Firewall.)

While Turkey continually made the news in 2016 for its government blocking access to popular sites and apps — not to mention the server slowdowns we saw after certain times of political unrest — Egypt closed out the year by blocking the secure messaging app Signal. The app, which is often endorsed by privacy advocate and US exile Edward Snowden, allows users to send encrypted messages and is popular amongst journalists and activists in Egypt.

TechCrunch reports that the app was blocked for some, but not for all, users for approximately a week. According to all reports, access has now been restored. Open Whisper Systems, the parent company of Signal, decided to use domain fronting to get around the block. When users send a message, it appears to be an HTTPS request to google.com. In order for a government to block Signal, therefore, they would be forced to block the entire internet.

One user, Rasha Abdulla, who is a professor of communications at American University in Cairo, told TechCrunch that the current crackdown on Signal was directly related to the events of 2011.

“Attempts to curtail freedom online, whether by blocking content or by user violations, is an obvious way to fight the effect of social media that was demonstrated in 2011 and in the couple of years after,” Abdulla said. “The online world provided a free space for people to discuss and organize in a way that was unprecedented.”

The Egyptian government made moves to block activists back in 2011 and the trend toward more internet censorship has only increased under president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The 2016 Freedom on the Net report gives Egypt a 63 out of 100 — with 100 being the worst possible score. (For comparison, Estonia scores 6, the United States scores 18, and China scores 88.) The trend since 2011 shows a slow but steady upward tick, from 54 back in the year of the Arab Spring to its current score.

In addition to blocking Signal, 2016 in Egypt also saw VoIP services like Skype getting blocked; news sites being censored; a 22-year-old being sentenced to three years in jail for Facebook posts mocking the president; and four Christian teens getting five years in prison for making a video mocking “the so-called Islamic State.”

So what can Egyptians expect for 2017? Well, if the trends continues — more censorship. More blocking of tools that protect activists, journalists, and private citizens from the prying eyes of the government. Luckily, there are tools that anyone can use to protect their online activity. If you’re interested in learning more, check out how Tenta can protect your mobile devices from everyone from governments to hackers.