Difference between revisions of "War against the internet"

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==About==
 
==About==
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[[category:wars on]]As the [[internet]] has entered the general public awareness and people have begun to depend upon it as a means of communication, and to depend less upon the [[mainstream media|traditional news sources]], [[powermonger]]s have slowly come to realize the tremendous threat potential it has for them. No longer can they succeed in suppressing stories by top-down control of the media; on the internet, any individual can ultimately spread the word to as many people as necessary.
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The [[war against the internet]] refers to the efforts of various [[powermonger]]s to diminish the democratizing effects of the internet by imposing regulations and technical obstacles in the path of those who are less politically powerful.
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Ideally, the [[internet]] makes it impossible to suppress politically damaging news and other "controversial" information,  since any individual can ultimately spread the word to an arbitrary number of others, instantly, at essentially no cost.
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Although it was clear as early as the mid-1990s that the [[internet]], because of this symmetricality and lack of centralized control, represented a grave threat to established [[power structure]]s, the powermongers were initially slow to realize (or, at least, to act on) the extent of the threat.
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It was only in the mid-to-late 200Xs, as internet usage became more ubiquitous and people came to depend upon it for information and daily tasks -- and less upon the more centralized and hierarchical [[mainstream media|traditional news sources]] -- that telecommunications companies began looking for ways to restrict "talkback" from non-privileged users and eventually to seek legislative retribution against dissenters and those whom they wished to "make examples of" (such as "[[media pirate]]s").
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===Related===
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For warlike activities conducted ''via'' the internet (such as [[DDoS]] attacks), see [[war through the internet]].
 
==Links==
 
==Links==
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===Reference===
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* [[wikipedia:Scientology versus the Internet]] describes successful and often non-obvious tactics used to close down open discussion (in this case, by advocates of [[Scientology]])
 
===Projects===
 
===Projects===
 
* [http://peacefire.org/ PeaceFire] is a dual-purposed site:
 
* [http://peacefire.org/ PeaceFire] is a dual-purposed site:
 
** shows how site-blocking software "for the protection of children" is subject to abuse as a device for censorship
 
** shows how site-blocking software "for the protection of children" is subject to abuse as a device for censorship
 
** provides practical tips for circumventing such software
 
** provides practical tips for circumventing such software
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* [[wikipedia:Megaphone desktop tool|Megaphone desktop tool]] allows individual users to "slave" their voting and posting to a central server, so that votes and posts are made on their behalf without exposing the users to the actual arguments under discussion. While participation is entirely voluntary, use of this tool (especially given that it does not offer users the choice of whether to take action in each case, much less which action to take) violates the "citizen participation" spirit of the internet.
 
===Filed Links===
 
===Filed Links===
 
{{links/news}}
 
{{links/news}}

Latest revision as of 20:40, 10 August 2011

About

The war against the internet refers to the efforts of various powermongers to diminish the democratizing effects of the internet by imposing regulations and technical obstacles in the path of those who are less politically powerful.

Ideally, the internet makes it impossible to suppress politically damaging news and other "controversial" information, since any individual can ultimately spread the word to an arbitrary number of others, instantly, at essentially no cost.

Although it was clear as early as the mid-1990s that the internet, because of this symmetricality and lack of centralized control, represented a grave threat to established power structures, the powermongers were initially slow to realize (or, at least, to act on) the extent of the threat.

It was only in the mid-to-late 200Xs, as internet usage became more ubiquitous and people came to depend upon it for information and daily tasks -- and less upon the more centralized and hierarchical traditional news sources -- that telecommunications companies began looking for ways to restrict "talkback" from non-privileged users and eventually to seek legislative retribution against dissenters and those whom they wished to "make examples of" (such as "media pirates").

Related

For warlike activities conducted via the internet (such as DDoS attacks), see war through the internet.

Links

Reference

Projects

  • PeaceFire is a dual-purposed site:
    • shows how site-blocking software "for the protection of children" is subject to abuse as a device for censorship
    • provides practical tips for circumventing such software
  • Megaphone desktop tool allows individual users to "slave" their voting and posting to a central server, so that votes and posts are made on their behalf without exposing the users to the actual arguments under discussion. While participation is entirely voluntary, use of this tool (especially given that it does not offer users the choice of whether to take action in each case, much less which action to take) violates the "citizen participation" spirit of the internet.

Filed Links

Related


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