On February 6, 2009, an Egyptian-German graduate student known for his coverage of the situation in Gaza was mysteriously abducted by Egyptian state security forces. Within days, just as mysteriously as he was abducted, he was returned to his family. Reportedly his release was due to the intense pressure put on the government to secure his release. The German embassy reportedly intervened on Rizk’s behalf. However, the state generally resents and disregards foreign government intervention on behalf of dual-citizens. On the other hand, immediately after he was abducted, Facebook status lines called for his release, petitions circulated, protests were organized and groups were created to push for his release. One group reportedly reached 7,000 members in just a few days. Could Facebook have been the source of the “intense pressure” that secured Rizk’s release? Facebook is reported to be the third most visited website from Egyptian computers (Katz). As of January 2009, 800,000 Egyptians were Facebook users – a number that represents 9% of all internet users in Egypt (Shapiro). It is considered such a risk that at one point in 2008 the Egyptian government was reportedly considering blocking access in Egypt (Mansour). In 2001, Pippa Norris predicted that the internet would provide “a global platform for opposition movements challenging autocratic regimes.” (6) The informal networks created by digital technologies such as social networking sites can support and expand civil society. On the other hand, skeptics, who felt that the Internet would play little or no role in promoting development, argued that the internet merely “engages the already engaged” while pessimists like Peter Golding (2000) contended that the internet merely reinforces existing social, political and economic divides. It is the position of this author that social networking sites like Facebook do provide an alternative channel for civic engagement, a virtual Habermasian public sphere of sorts. (Salter) But, unlike those Keohane and Nye (1998) labeled “prophets of the new cyberworld”, this author acknowledges the limitations due to economic reality and political structures. (82) The success of Facebook as a tool of political mobilization depends on how many Egyptians can participate and how many are willing to take the risks involved with participating. This paper presents a qualitative analysis of Facebook’s potential as a channel of civic engagement for Egyptian political activists operating in a restrictive and reactionary environment. The analysis applies Mario Diani’s (2001) criteria for investigating the role of virtual social movement networks.