The Dark Side of the Internet

In The Net Delusion, Evgeny Morozov shook up a fairly popular notion that the internet is a driver for freedom and democracy.  According to Morozov, authoritarian governments have adapted to the current information age by embracing technology rather than fighting it.  Not long after he published his book, it was put to the test.  The Egyptian government’s reaction to this year’s riots turned The Net Delusion into a reality.  Egypt cut off cell phone and internet connectivity to its citizens to prevent the occurring violence from being published and to stop protestors from communicating and organizing.  The government was also known to send mass text messages, encouraging its citizens to confront “traitors and criminals.”  It hasn't been decided how this action has effected the outcome of the protests, but it seems like a common tactic among governments recently.  One NY Times reporter stated that this merely prevented slactivism, by pushing bloggers who normally would use social media to spread awareness, to take to the streets instead.

Morozov compares the current application of technology by authoritarian leaders to the contrasting worlds of George Orwell and Aldous Huxley.  While Orwell believed authoritarian governments would establish themselves through censorship, Huxley stated that wouldn’t even be necessary.  In Huxley’s Brave New World, mind-numbing amusement could control the masses.  Governments rather have it's citizens blog and create Facebook awareness pages, rather than take to old fashion political movements.  However, Huxley also thought that psychedelics would be a stabilizing force in future volatile societies.  His views have been slightly radical at times, but his concepts of distraction have been applied by many foreign governments.

Morozov is not alone in his critical beliefs.  In 2003 the Department of Defense released a roadmap for information operations that caused quite a commotion in the “cyber-utopian” camp.  Most of the resulting fear seemed to be caused by misunderstanding of the document.  The document states that we should “fight the net” since it is equivalent to an enemy threat.  Several sections seem to be unfortunately worded and without proper context, I would worry myself.  The U.S. has always sought to control the flow of information, not for censorship but for strategic gains.  The document mostly relates the dangers of the net to  software exploitations, cyber-terrorism, and other active threats, which should be fought and defended against.  They did not seem concerned about the free flow of information.

Overall, Morozov thinks that the popular belief in Washington is that the internet will create a utopian democratic world.  However, with my personal studies in national security, I’ve seen this view in the minority rather than majority.  Similar to the DOD’s views expressed in the Information Operation Roadmap, there seems to be quite a bit of fear coming from governments.  The internet's centralizing of information has brought new threats that are more difficult to combat.  The interconnectivity of the internet has increased the reach and anonymity of enemies.  Information freedom has provided education and training that potential enemies might not have received otherwise.  While some politicians might publically tout the benefits of the internet, it seems that most know better and are taking the proper precautions.