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These governments that block social media or control/monitor the internet to avoid critics of government or dissent, whether that be Nepal, Tunisia, Turkey, UK,

These governments that block social media or control/monitor the internet to avoid critics of government or dissent, whether that be Nepal, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Germany, China, Egypt, US, Russia, Israel, are always shocked when there is an uprising. Unsurprisingly when a government tries to control people this closely many will see the flaws in it and make a stand and rightly so whether that be digitally or in person. It's understandable why so many tech knowledgeable dissidents create or use apps that bypass ridiculous laws.

jay-barronville 1y ago
> These governments that block social media or control/monitor the internet to avoid critics of government or dissent, whether that be Nepal, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Germany, China, Egypt, US, Russia, Israel, are always shocked when there is an uprising. I beg to differ. I don’t think that any of these governments are shocked that the people eventually fight back. I think that they simply make the mistake of underestimating the power of the people (especially when united) and severely overestimating their ability to suppress the people and their dissent. That’s how tyranny works. That said, freedom of speech is always worth fighting for! Once you lose your right to speak freely, it’s only a matter of time before you start to lose everything else.
Fricken 1y ago
[flagged]
- blitzar 1y ago
  but look at those engagement numbers tho, numbers the like of which may never be seen again. sacrifices were made - people put in long nights working, missed their childrens birthdays, anniversaries etc. years of A/B testing and tweaks to the algorithm went into fermenting that genocide. facebook engineers really earned their pizza party that week.
  - christabsmith 1y ago
    [dead]
- Ajedi32 1y ago
  Interesting. Are you arguing in that case censorship would have been a good thing? Is there a principled stance to be made here, or is it just "people should have freedom of speech when I agree with their goals, and be censored if I don't"?
  - thisislife2 1y ago
    Not OP, but I don't consider regulating social media as "censorship" at all because the nature of foreign owned social media platforms means that you do not know if it is your own citizens talking or some foreign agent with their own vested interest. Media and communication platforms in every country is regulated. All countries also have stricter regulations for foreign media and telecom companies. Online platforms - who are now media and communication platform - have somehow managed to wriggle by most governments so far, and even become dominant, without any oversights. That does not bode well for any country, including democratic ones. This kind of digital colonisation is the most egregious mistake made by the Global South, and they are just now waking up to it, hoping to reign it before it is too late.
    - Ajedi32 1y ago
      "Stricter regulations" like what? It's easy to talk in the abstract about how "someone ought to do something", but if you're not asking for censorship then what exactly are you asking for? Without any specifics, "government oversight" of what people are saying to each other on social media gives off some very Orwellian vibes in my mind...
      - thisislife2 1y ago
        > "Stricter regulations" like what? For communication platforms (messengers) - the same kind that telecom companies are bound to, for example. For social media platforms - similar to what older media platforms are bound on content, editorial / journalistic format and integrity etc. Both also require new, stricter privacy and data laws. I live in a democracy and I find the idea of BigTech "regulating" itself while also being a bastion of "free speech" to be an oxymoron, especially a foreign one.
- thisislife2 1y ago
  Since you are being downvoted, perhaps out of ignorance, I posted to back your assertions - you are absolutely right that social media fuelled the Islamophobia that has now culminated in the ongoing genocide of Rohingyas. My country too has experienced how social media (especially WhatsApp and Facebook) actually normalised hate speech against the minorities (mostly Muslims and Christians), weakened our nations' secular fabric, and lead to the rise of the right- in India. (But I don't blame FB alone - US and China's cyber warfare division is definitely involved in all those social media experiments on fuelling hate, attempting to create unrest, and change people's political opinion in a country, using their country's various social media platform).
CommenterPerson 1y ago
India ?

jay-barronville 1y ago

> These governments that block social media or control/monitor the internet to avoid critics of government or dissent, whether that be Nepal, Tunisia, Turkey, UK, Germany, China, Egypt, US, Russia, Israel, are always shocked when there is an uprising. I beg to differ. I don’t think that any of these governments are shocked that the people eventually fight back. I think that they simply make the mistake of underestimating the power of the people (especially when united) and severely overestimating their ability to suppress the people and their dissent. That’s how tyranny works. That said, freedom of speech is always worth fighting for! Once you lose your right to speak freely, it’s only a matter of time before you start to lose everything else.

Fricken 1y ago

[flagged]

blitzar 1y ago
but look at those engagement numbers tho, numbers the like of which may never be seen again. sacrifices were made - people put in long nights working, missed their childrens birthdays, anniversaries etc. years of A/B testing and tweaks to the algorithm went into fermenting that genocide. facebook engineers really earned their pizza party that week.
- christabsmith 1y ago
  [dead]
Ajedi32 1y ago
Interesting. Are you arguing in that case censorship would have been a good thing? Is there a principled stance to be made here, or is it just "people should have freedom of speech when I agree with their goals, and be censored if I don't"?
- thisislife2 1y ago
  Not OP, but I don't consider regulating social media as "censorship" at all because the nature of foreign owned social media platforms means that you do not know if it is your own citizens talking or some foreign agent with their own vested interest. Media and communication platforms in every country is regulated. All countries also have stricter regulations for foreign media and telecom companies. Online platforms - who are now media and communication platform - have somehow managed to wriggle by most governments so far, and even become dominant, without any oversights. That does not bode well for any country, including democratic ones. This kind of digital colonisation is the most egregious mistake made by the Global South, and they are just now waking up to it, hoping to reign it before it is too late.
  - Ajedi32 1y ago
    "Stricter regulations" like what? It's easy to talk in the abstract about how "someone ought to do something", but if you're not asking for censorship then what exactly are you asking for? Without any specifics, "government oversight" of what people are saying to each other on social media gives off some very Orwellian vibes in my mind...
    - thisislife2 1y ago
      > "Stricter regulations" like what? For communication platforms (messengers) - the same kind that telecom companies are bound to, for example. For social media platforms - similar to what older media platforms are bound on content, editorial / journalistic format and integrity etc. Both also require new, stricter privacy and data laws. I live in a democracy and I find the idea of BigTech "regulating" itself while also being a bastion of "free speech" to be an oxymoron, especially a foreign one.
thisislife2 1y ago
Since you are being downvoted, perhaps out of ignorance, I posted to back your assertions - you are absolutely right that social media fuelled the Islamophobia that has now culminated in the ongoing genocide of Rohingyas. My country too has experienced how social media (especially WhatsApp and Facebook) actually normalised hate speech against the minorities (mostly Muslims and Christians), weakened our nations' secular fabric, and lead to the rise of the right- in India. (But I don't blame FB alone - US and China's cyber warfare division is definitely involved in all those social media experiments on fuelling hate, attempting to create unrest, and change people's political opinion in a country, using their country's various social media platform).

CommenterPerson 1y ago

India ?