The Internet, the network of networks, is synonymous with freedom. It is a significant advance for the transmission of information among citizens and facilitates the use of digital services to make our lives more comfortable. It is true that the privacy and security of users must be protected and that one must be aware that social networks transmit misinformation and manipulation. But a society with a free internet will always be much more democratic than one that does not have access to this network or has it under government censorship.
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And the number of governments feeling
the temptation to curtail internet freedom in order
to stay in power is increasing. This is the case in Russia, where for some time now it has not been possible to guarantee its operation because the normal service is suddenly interrupted for “security reasons.” These are outages that can last weeks and leave users unable to make phone calls, pay for a purchase, or use it for daily work. The latest news coming from Moscow is that the government is considering a digital blackout coinciding these days with the Victory Day events, which commemorate the end of World War II.
The same thing happens in Iran, where during the recent weeks’ uprisings against the Revolutionary Guard regime, activists found themselves unable to communicate with each other to organize their actions. The internet disappeared as if by magic.
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In China, they do not resort to this strategy, but have their own system in which national platforms replace global ones, allowing much better control over the information transmitted to users. There is more censorship than prohibition, but it is also a brake on citizens’ freedom.
The dystopian work of George Orwell, 1984, is a reality in the world we live in today with information control, algorithms that promote falsehoods, or places where the internet is directly shut down. The insightful British writer accurately predicted in 1948 the world we are heading towards. It is worth denouncing it in places where it can still be done.
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