Over the next seven days, the Guardian is running a very interesting web series that will "tak[e] stock of the new battlegrounds for the internet." Each day has a different theme, with "the militarisation of cyberspace," "the new walled gardens," "IP wars," "civilising the web," "the open resistance," and "the end of privacy," on the horizon.
Today's (4/15) theme was "the new cold war," and the Guardian posted a range of articles exploring how governments have censored the internet. I've posted those articles below with a quick synopsis of each. Each article goes into some great depth that my synopsis cannot do justice for. I really recommend checking out each article, they're very interesting!
You can find the link to the Guardian's series homepage here.
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Ian Katz wrote the first Guardian article titled Web freedom faces greatest threat ever, warns Google's Sergey Brin. The article explored Sergey Brin's (the co-founder of Google) belief that the freedom of the internet is under attack from the use of walled gardens like Facebook and Apple, government censorship of the internet, and the entertainment industry's crusade against piracy.
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Oliver Burkeman wrote the second Guardian article titled Inside Washington's high risk mission to beat web censors. The article considered the efforts of Commotion Wireless, a U.S. State Department funded pro-democracy group created to undermine internet censorship. The debate over the internet's true nature really came out in the article: should the internet be open and subject to chaos, or controlled and subject to government policing?
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Eesti Keel wrote the third Guardian article which was titled How tiny Estonia stepped out of USSR's shadow to become an internet titan. The article explored how the internet has literally infused every facet of the Estonian lifestyle. In fact, you could walk 100 miles throughout Estonia and never lose your internet connection! The article went on to document how the Estonians have a physical card that gives them ability to vote, transfer money, and access government documentation (NSTIC, anyone?).
A fascinating article on how the internet can change a society . . . I highly recommend this one!
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Miriam Elder wrote the fourth Guardian article titled Nervous Kremlin seeks to purge Russia's internet of 'western' influences. The article looked at how Russian pro-democracy groups and Russian youth have grown up with the internet, and thus, would likely protest any attempt at government censorship. However, with Vladimir Putin soon to be back in power, there's fear that an internet crackdown is on the horizon.
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Ai Weiwei wrote the fifth Guardian article titled China's censorship can never defeat the internet. The article gave an interesting look at the Chinese government's censorship of its internet. Notably, the author believes that the proliferation of Chinese microblogs and other modes of internet expression means that the Chinese people have begun to feel the breeze of free speech. Moreover, government censorship can't coexist with the Chinese government's desire to make a strong and creative Chinese culture.
Along the same lines, Tania Branigan wrote the sixth Guardian article titled China's censors tested by microbloogers who keep one step ahead of state media.
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