by Caleb Smith
This week, the People's Republic of China passed a new legislation forcing ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to not only require full names and identification of every customer, but also to terminate service and report any posts or activity that can be deemed as "political dissent." Any negative word from a citizen toward the Chinese government, it's representatives, or any mention of incidents such as the massacre at Tienanmen Square, will result in no more internet service, and your name being sent to the government.
While this seems shocking to most readers in the US, we aren't entirely far from that type of legislation, ourselves. Just these past couple years, acts such SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) or ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) have attempted to take away certain freedoms from internet users in the name of "national security" or "economic stability." Although those were not voted in after an enormous public outcry, a new act has been proposed called CISPA (Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act) that jeopardizes our privacy by allowing the government to monitor the web traffic and emails of ordinary civilians in order to make a dent in "domestic terrorism." The US and China are only two of the growing list of governments that are fighting to restrict and control the internet. Why are governmental systems so determined to cage this wild beast we call the internet? The answer is simple; It's anarchy.
Forget space. The internet is the final frontier for our generation. It's a virtual "wild west" where virtual proxies of ourselves communicate with each other, learning things that we could never have learned in the physical world. Any person, no matter where they are, can hop online and research any topic they want or post whatever they want without fear of retaliation. Governments have always been able to restrict communication in the past; trade blockades, well-timed assassinations, and postal investigations were just a few forms. This idea of a new form of communication is terrifying to the powers-that-be because it's almost impossible to restrict. Now, everything uploaded to the internet is permanently saved on a vast network without hope of deletion or redaction. Unrestricted access to this network puts unlimited information in the hands of the people for the first time since the beginning of society.
The internet is the first, fully-functional anarchist society, where any user can do whatever they please with the click of a mouse, and the scariest part is that IT WORKS. The reason why the internet seems to be such a danger to our governments is because this network provides proof that not only is an anarchist society possible, to some, it's also preferable. It shows that average citizens are able to govern themselves just as well as any politician. These acts being put into Congress or Parliament aren't to defend civilians, but to protect governments from the enemy they fear most: the people.
Consider this; Millions of people are harassed and exploited on the internet every day, but the outcry only reaches a courtroom or law enforcement when a corporate or government website is compromised. When a girl's private pictures are uploaded and sold online without her consent, we typically hear the thought-terminating cliche, "that's the internet," accompanied with a shrug. However, when a copyrighted film is uploaded and freely distributed, a federal investigation takes place, resulting in arrests and harsh sentencing of otherwise harmless individuals. This is a terrible double-standard, revealing the true priorities of our governments. A girl's life is meaningless compared to profits made off The Dark Knight Rises.
This article is not to inspire a violent overthrow of the government, but it needs to be put out while we still retain this freedom; the freedom to speak out with complete honesty without fear of our door being kicked down or our service being terminated. While the political climate in China may seem bleak, the US is still on the verge of hope. Write or tweet to your Congressmen or State Representatives (Yes, most of them have Twitter accounts) and tell them that you stand for internet freedom, and will not stand for legislation like CISPA to be passed.
The internet gives us a voice. Make it be heard.
Written by Caleb Smith
Tech Editor for TheTechFixation.com
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