NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Connected Iran: Why Governments are Terrified of the Internet
Connected Iran: Why Governments are Terrified of the Internet
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000587.html
Greetings. As the world watches the unfolding of dramatic human
events in the aftermath of disputed Iranian elections, it's impossible
to ignore the spectacle of global news organizations reduced to being,
in many respects, mere conduits for dramatic and timely YouTube videos
and Twitter messages.
The Iranian government's crackdown on traditional news sources has all
but silenced direct reporting from major media, so CNN, FOX News, and
other outlets are embracing the direct reporting of "citizen
journalists" -- along with disclaimers that many of their new sources
cannot be independently authenticated. The discomfort being felt in
these newsrooms is plain to see in the faces and words of anchors on
every mainstream news channel.
But it's not just the news biz that finds this situation so
uncomfortable. In significant ways, governments around the world --
already suspicious of the Internet's egalitarian aspects -- are likely
viewing the outpouring of images and messages from Iran with
considerable alarm. And such fears may not be limited only to what we
would typically categorize as authoritarian regimes.
It's fashionable for governments to profess a love for the Internet
and related technologies -- often expressed in terms of "broadband
connectivity" -- so long as the Net is being used in ways acceptable
to the powers-that-be.
But when ordinary citizens turn these technologies into tools to fight
oppression, suddenly the Internet loses its "official government Web
sites" glow, and threatens -- horrors! -- that ordinary people may
actually have a meaningful say in events.
Of course, at that stage we tend to see government attempts at
Internet censorship and data communications blockages, which almost
always are fruitless in the end. To really prevent the people's use
of such communications systems in "offending" manners generally
requires total and absolute cutoffs of telephone and Internet
communications.
As Clay Shirky succinctly notes in these brief excerpts
( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGnNF0d8Uis ) from his interview aired
on CNN today, any government that attempts such draconian measures
risks a very upset, radicalized citizenry -- and vast economic damage.
Nobody knows at this point how the current furor in Iran will turn
out. My personal best wishes and hopes are with those brave Iranians
fighting to make sure that their votes really count, rather than just
brushed aside by the government with humiliating comparisons to upset
sports fans and traffic violators.
We don't know today whether or not the Iranian people will triumph in
their battle. But we can pretty confidently be sure that history will
record these events as pivotal in the evolution of the Internet and
global communications. We are seeing a dramatic demonstration that
the confluence of technologies such as Internet-connected cell phones
with mass-distribution social-networking environments like YouTube,
Twitter, and Facebook, brings tremendous communications leverage to
ordinary people. It's a force unlike any the world has seen before,
and one that governments can only attempt to muzzle at their own
peril.
Interesting times, indeed.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren@vortex.com
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
- People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
- Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP - Global Coalition
for Transparent Internet Performance - http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein