Internet won't necessarily lead to a net increase in political freedom
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.)"
CONTEXT(Help)
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Technology: Oppressor or liberator? »Technology: Oppressor or liberator?
ICT's capacity to spread democracy? »ICT's capacity to spread democracy?
Cyber-utopianism »Cyber-utopianism
Internet won't necessarily lead to a net increase in political freedom
Promotion of Internet Freedom by US government may endanger dissidents »Promotion of Internet Freedom by US government may endanger dissidents
Governments will be exaggerately afraid of Internet and will overreact »Governments will be exaggerately afraid of Internet and will overreact
People will believe that having social media turns you into Tunisians »People will believe that having social media turns you into Tunisians
The cautious approach promoted by the Evgeny Morozovs is dangerous »The cautious approach promoted by the Evgeny Morozovs is dangerous
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