Monday
Jun162008
Governments Arresting Bloggers
Monday, June 16, 2008 at 10:22PM
Ars Technica published a story yesterday about various governments cracking down on bloggers. Of course they mentioned the usual suspects, places like Saudi Arabia and Malaysia. But what may surprise some is the fact that some of these arrests have been happening in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, supposed bastions of democracy and free speech.
Reports show that since 2006, the number of bloggers arrested globally has more than tripled.
We are living in a very delicate time. We've already lost many of the civil liberties we once had, and each day we are subject to more and more surveillance by our governments. This has mostly come about in the name of "Security", but the fact is we are no more secure in our surveillance societies than we were pre-9/11.
It is imperative that we make a stand to protect bloggers rights. The fact is that the blogosphere is one of the last bastions of truly free media there is. It is still well beyond the control of the media moguls and that is what makes it powerful, and why it scares them so.
Granted, there are likely times when bloggers cross the line, but we as citizens must not allow ourselves to become complacent. We must not just sit back and trust that cyberlaw-enforcement agents have our best interests in mind. They almost certainly do not.
We need to let companies like Google and Yahoo! know that we do not believe it is ok that they willingly hand over the information of bloggers to oppressive regimes like China for thought crimes. We need to lend support to organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and we need to make sure that the best and brightest of bloggers are rightfully recognized as the freelance journalists that they are.
The fact is that once the government sinks it's claws into something it is very difficult to get them out. And once we've lost a civil right, it is equally difficult to get it back. We should not slip blindly into the night. We, the citizens of the world, need to stand-up and vigilantly watch the watchers, and make sure we loudly let them know when they have crossed the limit which WE have set.
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Reports show that since 2006, the number of bloggers arrested globally has more than tripled.
We are living in a very delicate time. We've already lost many of the civil liberties we once had, and each day we are subject to more and more surveillance by our governments. This has mostly come about in the name of "Security", but the fact is we are no more secure in our surveillance societies than we were pre-9/11.
It is imperative that we make a stand to protect bloggers rights. The fact is that the blogosphere is one of the last bastions of truly free media there is. It is still well beyond the control of the media moguls and that is what makes it powerful, and why it scares them so.
Granted, there are likely times when bloggers cross the line, but we as citizens must not allow ourselves to become complacent. We must not just sit back and trust that cyberlaw-enforcement agents have our best interests in mind. They almost certainly do not.
We need to let companies like Google and Yahoo! know that we do not believe it is ok that they willingly hand over the information of bloggers to oppressive regimes like China for thought crimes. We need to lend support to organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and we need to make sure that the best and brightest of bloggers are rightfully recognized as the freelance journalists that they are.
The fact is that once the government sinks it's claws into something it is very difficult to get them out. And once we've lost a civil right, it is equally difficult to get it back. We should not slip blindly into the night. We, the citizens of the world, need to stand-up and vigilantly watch the watchers, and make sure we loudly let them know when they have crossed the limit which WE have set.
------------
Got a comment or an Opinion? Leave a comment and start the discussion.
Stumble It!
Reader Comments (2)
I really had no idea this was happening. I think blogs are one of the best things going on the internet. It's nice to have a decentralized source of news that can serve as a true third point perspective and remain neutral.
I really had no idea this was happening. I think blogs are one of the best things going on the internet. It's nice to have a decentralized source of news that can serve as a true third point perspective and remain neutral.