Internet and cell-phone data service were disrupted Friday across Egypt as authorities used extreme measures to try to hamper protesters from organizing mass rallies after noon prayers.

The protests against President Hosni Mubarak’s nearly 30 years in power, inspired by the popular uprising that ousted the leader of Tunisia earlier this month, are posing the biggest challenge to the Egyptian government in decades.

Speaking to reporters at the World Economic Forum, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he had been closely following the protests, first in Tunisia and now in Egypt and Yemen.

“In that regard ... shutting down all this Internet service ... I believe that one of the ground principles of democracy should be to protect the freedom of speech of the people,” he said.

Ban said world leaders should view the protests as a chance to address the “legitimate concerns” of their people and urged authorities to refrain from violence against demonstrators.

“All concerned people or leaders should ensure that the situation in that region, and particularly now in Egypt, does not and should not lead to further violence,” Ban said.