http://www.politics.co.uk/comment/cultu ... 333857.htm
Comment: Victory for free speech and the web
Tuesday, 13, Oct 2009 12:00
The web's response to an injunction on the Guardian reveals the liberating power of the internet. Hopefully, this is a taste of things to come.
By Ian Dunt
...
For politics, [the internet] seemed the anarchic defence to governments which were quickly learning to use technology for authoritarian ends. From the DNA database, to ID cards, to biometric passports, the state saw new technology and thought of new ways to limit people. It's always been that way.
The internet, and to a lesser extent mobile phones, were liberating. Text messaging became pivotal to the democratic process in Ukraine, allowing hundred of thousands of youths to coordinate their movements in Kiev as they protested the 2004 election result. Meanwhile, blogs, Facebook and Twitter became standard issue items for rebels and discontents in authoritarian countries across the globe, with internet companies agonising over what to do in China in particular.
...
