Internet won't necessarily lead to a net increase in political freedom Component #89918

Although the internet and mobile phones can lead to things like improved ability to mobilize, those improvements will not necessarily lead to a net increase in political freedom.
This position, according to Clay Shirky, is held by Evgeny Morozov and Rebecca Mackinnon

"Here’s my precis of Evgeny’s thesis: although the internet and mobile phones *can* lead to things like improved ability to mobilize, those improvements will not necessarily lead to a net increase in political freedom. The governments threatened by increasingly synchronized populations can still avail themselves of Evgeny’s troika of surveillance, propaganda, and censorship, thus retaining or even strengthening their hold on the populace. (Rebecca Mackinnon makes a similar argument in her work on networked authoritarianism.)"
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Map HomeTechnology: Oppressor or liberator?
IssueICT's capacity to spread democracy?
PositionCyber-utopianism
ComponentInternet won't necessarily lead to a net increase in political freedom
ComponentPromotion of Internet Freedom by US government may endanger dissidents
SupportiveArgumentGovernments will be exaggerately afraid of Internet and will overreact
SupportiveArgumentPeople will believe that having social media turns you into Tunisians
OpposingArgumentThe cautious approach promoted by the Evgeny Morozovs is dangerous
Citations


Author: Alexander B. Howard, O'Reilly Media
Cited by: François Dongier 9:30 PM Tuesday 25 January 2011 GMT
Also cited at: 88940, 94586
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Entered by:- François Dongier
Entry date (GMT): 1/25/2011 8:57:00 PM
Last edit date (GMT): 2/14/2011 7:05:00 PM
Incoming cross-relations: 1
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