Vodafone's Egypt texts may do them lasting damage | Charles Arthur

Vodafone may have been forced to send out pro-Mubarak texts, but operating in oppressive countries is always risky for a brand

Vodafone has admitted sending out pro-Mubarak text messages to users of its mobile service in Egypt – although as the company says, in a mea exculpa, it was obliged to by the government.

I had seen the pictures on Flickr last night, and followed some debate (involving Graham Linehan on Twitter) in which people debated whether they could be faked, and whether the translations given really did indicate a pro-Mubarak instruction; one suggestion was that the words were somewhat in the Nostradamus mode, where the meaning depended on what you wanted it to mean.

This will be seized on by people who already want to dislike Vodafone (hello, UK Uncut) as further evidence of corporate evil. Certainly, it's the sort of thing that will have executives in technology companies heaving a sigh and being grateful it wasn't them.

Arguably, the staff at Vodafone Egypt didn't have much choice; it may be only 44.7% owned by the government there, but possession of a gun (or tank, or army, or secret police force armed with knives and sticks and a ruthless approach) is nine-tenths – often more – of the argument. But technology companies can hardly pretend they're surprised when they do business with autocratic regimes and then are unpopular when those regimes use their products to reinforce their diktat. Remember Nokia Siemens, which provided equipment that was used to monitor opposition in Iran? Or how about Cisco, whose routers have been used to build China's Great Firewall, which keeps the majority of its citizens in wilful ignorance of the opinions of the world beyond its shores?

The fact is for any corporation that if you're keen to do business with an autocrat, you'll be part of the collateral damage if – when – the shit hits the fan. Yet like moths batting themselves against a lightbulb in the belief that it's actually the sun, companies keep returning to do business with countries and regimes whose life spans must be limited because of their repressive nature: no tyrant is immortal, not even (despite appearances) Robert Mugabe, and Zimbabwe will be lucky if it survives his passing without turmoil.

It's not only technology companies, of course. I'm astonished that BP has thrown in its lot once more with the Russian government, having already had its ownership of one joint venture there simply stolen. But moths don't think about their headache. They just see something and think it's the sun.

And the people who succeed Mubarak and Mugabe and the rest – in Burma, in Iran, in North Korea, at some point in China – will not forget the brands that helped in the conspiracy to keep them down. The only faint light for Vodafone is that even while it was sending out those messages, its technology enabled the rebellion. It will have to rehearse that argument well. It's going to need it some time in the next few months.

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