The battlelines are finally being drawn with regard to the internet. There's been far too much freedom of speech on the internets for far too long (famous exceptions like Iran, & China not withstanding). The problem 'democratic' countries have with the internet is that they can't be seen to be controlling it. This superficial 'freedom' meant that everything was available to view, but that through your ISP, the authorities would always know exactly who you are and what you've been looking at. But with the ongoing Wikileaks scandal, we see western governments getting very uncomfortable about the idea of freedom of information (it used to be journalists who researched whistleblowing stories like Watergate - but nowadays, they're all too busy churning out whatever the corporation tells them). So they've done something so 1984ish that it'd be laughable if it wasn't so FUCKING FRIGHTENING!!!! - they've arrested the founder of the website for sexual abuse charges. So they're not worried about his website then? Only his sexual conduct. This proves a theory I've had for quite some time - namely that anyone who gets close enough to the truth only has to be accused of being a pedophile or a terrorist, and they've got the excuse to break into your house and kidnap your computer. The fact that I still have mine, sadly (and humblingly) means that I'm not a big enough fish.
The thing that worries me is Anonymous (see their manifesto HERE). It's not that I'm against the movement - far from it. The problem is that if we're already at the stage where we need the internet equivalent of guerrilla warfare then it means one of two things. Either 'They' have already won - we actually live in a world where there is no freedom, only the illusion of such, or Anonymous are picking a fight that is going to do nothing more than give 'Them' an excuse to tighten up on what freedoms we actually DO have (personally, I think it's somewhere between the two).
Other signs that there's an info-war going on is the fact that the US government has just shut 80-something websites down for illegal activities ranging from selling viagra to listing torrent files. Personally, I agree that dealing in illegal pharmaceuticals is not a particularly defendible use of the internet, the listing of torrent files is much more worrying. Whether these sites are in breach of copyright or not is less important than the use of torrents for spreading information. Movie companies are quite happy to put out poor quality torrents (they act like adverts for the films, and more people go the the cinema now then ever). So the copyright war is only about shutting down the free flow of information.
Even Wikileaks namesake Wikipedia has had cease-operations warnings, because they dared do something deplorable to Puritans - include sexual information in an encyclopedia. (At this point, I apologise if I'm going on too long, but this is the most important post I've made to date) I remember as a teenager, choosing the Oxford English dictionary over the Collins specifically because it included the word FUCK. Not that I only use dictionaries for looking up rude words, the fact was that even at 17 I was worried that if they missed out a swear word (an English word nonetheless), what other words are they censoring without even telling you. Like it or not, an encyclopedia is supposed to be objective. If you don't want your child to learn about sex, don't let them use the internet (or talk to other kids at school, or have friends at all, or watch TV, etc...).Other signs that there's an info-war going on is the fact that the US government has just shut 80-something websites down for illegal activities ranging from selling viagra to listing torrent files. Personally, I agree that dealing in illegal pharmaceuticals is not a particularly defendible use of the internet, the listing of torrent files is much more worrying. Whether these sites are in breach of copyright or not is less important than the use of torrents for spreading information. Movie companies are quite happy to put out poor quality torrents (they act like adverts for the films, and more people go the the cinema now then ever). So the copyright war is only about shutting down the free flow of information.
What can you do?
I wouldn't recommend joining Anonymous (simply because an organisation without a clear hierarchy is incredibly susceptible to infiltation from the very enemy they would seek to destroy (but I do want to wish all Anonymous members good luck, and please don't turn on me!).
Instead, I believe that something we can all do is save to your hardrive whatever webpages you believe may be in danger of closure (including this blog, if I ever write anything important enough to get me blacklisted!). The technological equivalent of a bookburning is going on. Every dictatorship in history has burned libraries, and the books that have survived are the ones that people have kept in secret. The problem now is that we read these things online and leave them there, assuming they will always be there. THEY WILL NOT!!! Sooner or later, you're favourite conspiracy theory page or underground music scene page, or whatever else floats your boat page will display "the page you are looking for is unavailable". You won't even know it's been censored - you'll just think your browser's knackered.
Good luck, friends. And whichever side you're on, I send you love.
