~ TDSOIF ~ The Dark Side Of Internet Freedom

~ CU:ANBITENOOCTROASRTAID ~ Cyber-Utopianism: A Naive Belief In The Emancipatory Nature Of Online Communication That Rests On A Stubborn Refusal To Acknowledge Its Downside

~ TDSOIF ~ The Dark Side Of Internet Freedom

~ EL-‘FR’-HBTBOOT-TTC-A-ET-PC ~ Expressions Like – “Freedom Recession” – Have Begun To Break Out Of The – Think-Tank Circuit – And – Enter The – Public Conversation

~ FTA-H-AG-WRTTI-C-U-DNPHUIWPFPP-HMDWLTUIFS-A-HS-MSOIC-WB ~ Failing To Anticipate How – Authoritarian Governments – Would Respond To The Internet – Cyber-Utopians – Did Not Predict How Useful It Would Prove For Propaganda Purposes – How Masterfully Dictators Would Learn To Use It For Surveillance – And – How Sophisticated – Modern Systems Of Internet Censorship – Would Become

~ P-ITRTSTDOTNDE-C-U-EUBTROTI-RTSTIPARAWOPL-NJTOCTD ~ Paradoxically – In Their Refusal To See The Downside Of The New Digital Environment – Cyber-Utopians – Ended Up Belittling The Role Of The Internet – Refusing To See That It Penetrates And Reshaped All Walks Of Political Life – Not Just The Ones Conducive To Democratization

~ IMWIW-C-U-UR ~ I Myself Was Intoxicated With – Cyber-Utopianism – Until Recently

~ ATITOAEGRITPOBAADS-TPTFTC-A-SWWTIAWOG ~ As The Internet Takes On An Even Greater Role In The Politics Of Both Authoritarian And Democratic States – The Pressure To Forget The Context – And – Start With What The Internet Allows Will Only Grow

~ TSAAITIOABTFWAVIH-EITHAUTPWTLFG ~ The Struggle Agaisnt Authoritarianism Is Too Important Of A Battle To Fight With A Voluntary Intellectual Handicap – Even If That Handicap Allows Us To Play With The Latest Fancy Gadgets

~ TUCOAIR ~ The Unimaginable Consequences Of An Imagined Revolution

~ TBB-C-U-A-C-NIABO ~ The Border Between – Cyber-Utopianism – And – Cyber-Naivete – Is A Blurry One

~ TRWSMPAJBITPOTIIBTHNGTSMT ~ The Reason Why So Many Politicians And Journalists Believe In The Power Of The Internet Is Because They Have Not Given This Subject Much Thought

~ TIHAETSPTSAP-O-AMAR ~ The Internet Has Also Empowered: The Secret Police / The Censors / The Propaganda

~ RTATTWCAS-RTU-AR-I-EI ~ Refusing To Acknowledge That The Web Can Actually Strengthen – Rather Than Undermine – Authoritarian Regimes – Is – Extremely Irresponsible

~ MAR-HLTFIAEMBTAOI ~ Modern Authoritarian Regimes – Have Learned To Function In An Environment Marked By The Abundance Of Information

~ OD-A-T-CI ~ Online Discontents – And – Their – Content Intellectuals

~ CPTEICADIAMB-FMET-24/7P-TIHMTEEOTLUA-A-TLIAD-MA ~ Controlling People Through Entertainment Is Cheaper And Doesn’t Involve As Much Brutality – Far More Effective Than – 24/7 Policing – The Internet Has Made The Entertainment Experiences Of Those Living Under Authoritarianism – And – Those Living In A Democracy – Much Alike

~ ACTUSTAFOUV ~ A Call To Use Strategies That Are Free Of Utopian Visions

~ C-A-S ~ Censors – And – Sensibilities

~ UO-ILT-IAP ~ Unwarranted Optimism – Inevitably Leads To – Inaction And Paralysis

~ CS-AA-DAF-T-TTI-NOTU-A-T-BA-WEED ~ Censorship-Systems – Are As – Detailed And Fine-Tuned – To – The Information-Needs Of Their Users – As – The – Behavioral Advertising – We Encounter Every Day

~ TTU ~ Time To Unfriend

~ TBTTIITBTCIDN ~ The Belief That The Internet Is Too Big To Censor Is Dangerously Naive

~ WDC;WO! ~ We Don’t Censor; We Outsource!

~ WC-UC ~ Wise Crowds – Unwise Causes

~ METI-DNBI-DSFAG ~ Mere Exposure To Information – Does Not By Itself – Decrease Support For Authoritarian Governments

~ TH-THHBAMEWTETPTAS-TT-BDAI ~ Throughout History – There Has Hardly Been A More Effective Way To Ensure That People Talk About Something – Than To – Ban Discussions About It

~ MP-DNDBP-EP-TM/CG/BP-A-MR-RT ~ Modern Propaganda – Does Not Discriminate Between Platforms – Easily Penetrating – Text Messages / Computer Games / Blog Posts – And – Most Recently – Ringback Tones

~ TUO-TM-F-PP-‘RT’ ~ The Use Of – Text Messaging – For – Propaganda Purposes – “Red-Texting”

~ TIINGTUTPFOMA ~ The Internet Is Not Going To Undermine The Propaganda Foundations Of Modern Authoritarianism

~ TIROT-B-IDOTAOUNV ~ The Internet Runs On Trust –But – Its Dependence On Trust Also Opens Up Numerous Vulnerabilities

~ TWIYTMADTCOIC ~ The World Is Yet To Meet A Database That Cried Over Its Contents

~ SS-TC-AAACOWIS ~ Surveillance Software – That Can – Automatically Annotate And Comment On What It Sees

~ BTAO-SM-ITALOEF-RG-T-LATP-DAAW ~ Before The Advent Of – Social Media – It Took A Lot Of Effort For – Repressive Governments – To – Learn About The People – Dissidents Are Associated With

~ TC-DTCIWMOTUO-WSUTCOGTW ~ Technology Companies – Utterly Disregard The Contexts In Which Many Of Their Users Operate – While Significantly Underestimating The Consequences Of Getting Things Wrong

~ T-IV-O-SE-INLO-T-IG-C-AG ~ The – Intelligence Value – Of – Search Engines – Is Not Lost On – The – Internet Gurus – Consulting – Authoritarian Governments

~ FAF-ACSDM-N-WTFIPE ~ First And Foremost – Authorities Can Shut Down Mobile-Networks – Whenever They Find It Politically Expedient

~ NOHY-TAAG-B-ATPOAC-A-CJATG ~ No One Has Yet – Toppled An Authoritarian Government – By – Assuming The Posture Of A Clown – And – Cracking Jokes About The Guillotine

~ P-H-N-ACBTUO-SN-A-N ~ Psychologists – Have – Noticed – A Correlation Between The Use Of – Social Networking – And – Narcissism

~ DWD ~ Dissidents Without Dissent

~ MO-DA-IMB-CI-WOO-KP ~ Much Of – Digital Activism – Is Mediated By – Commercial Intermediaries – Who Operate On – Kafkaesque Principles

~ DI ~ Dangerous Intermediaries

~ ‘IS’TIT-G-H-LC-OT-NAA-O-TWMTIM ~ “Information Sovereignty” – The Idea That – Governments – Have – Legitimate Concerns – Over The – Nationalities And Allegiances – Of – Those Who Mediate Their Information Markets

~ IF-A-TC ~ Internet Freedoms – And – Their Consequences

~ TOTWAAASIAFO ~ The Only Thing Worse Than An Authoritarian State Is A Failed One

~ NMT-PVAACA-FRC ~ Nothing More Than – Poorly Veiled Attempts At Creating A – Favorable Regulatory Climate

~ A-UT-ITHO-OP-I-ARFD ~ An – Unruly Tool – In The Hands Of – Overconfident People – Is – A Recipe For Disaster

~ H-C-W-SOL-P-EP-TWMUPAOHESTRA ~ Hidden-Costs – Will – Sooner Or Later – Produce – Environmental Problems – That Will Make Us Painfully Aware Of How Expensive Such Technologies Really Are

~ TFTWCYCATCOAGT-F/M/E-DNMTICF ~ The Fact That We Cannot Yet Calculate All The Costs Of A Given Technology – Financial / Moral / Environmental – Does Not Mean That It Comes Free

~ J-AOP-B-CT-TIWSIHA-I-ETKOCTSBST-MAP-NJ-T-S ~ Justifying – Assault On Privacy – By – Clamming That – This Is Where Society Is Heading Anyway – Is – Exactly The Kind Of Claim That Should Be Subject To – Moral And Political – Not Just – Technological – Scrutiny

~ WI-MD-A-ST-TD-ITIHOAO-TS-A-TP ~ What Is – Most Dangerous – About – Succumbing To – Technological Determinism – Is That It Hinders Our Awareness Of – The Social – And – The Political

~ TMWLA-T-TLIMSTFOIA-IIFOF ~ The More We Learn About – Technology – The Less It Makes Sense To Focus On It Alone – In Isolation From Other Factors

~ UNC-SWBGT-AFPOE ~ Under No Circumstances – Should We Be Giving Technologies – A Free Pass On Ethics

~ TWF ~ The Wicked Fix

~ E-WP-CBCASO-AH-LP-AT-SBTOTHPL ~ Every – Wicked Problem – Can Be Considered A Symptom Of – Another Higher-Level Problem – And Thus – Should Be Tackled On The Highest Possible Level

~ TUIOTMW-WIMDOTTE-IT-ATBEMII-P-A-S-L-LALAIP-TSAP-DOTI ~ The Ultimate Irony Of The Modern World – Which Is More Dependent On Technology Than Ever – Is That – As Technology Becomes Ever More Integrated Into – Political – And – Social – Life – Less And Less Attention Is Paid – To The – Social And Political – Dimensions Of Technology Itself