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‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

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521–530 of 645 posts

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#521

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Consider the notion that government has always been this way however its easier to tell this now because we are all so interconnected and informed.

That's a cynical take, a slightly less cynical take is that the rich and (privately) powerful have always tried to cement their power in form of organising a feudal-ish state and that the rest of us had to actively support democratising forces to counteracting them. What this means is having everything which lends itself to monopoly to democratic control, not private control, and to work together to make democratic c…

> What this means is having everything which lends itself to monopoly to democratic control, not private control, and to work together to make democratic control as efficient, localized and legitimate as possible.

How do you feel about the perspective that democracies allow the majority (or plurality) to force their values on the rest of us?

How do you feel about the notion that the rich and powerful are well acquainted with the techniques used to manipulate democratic systems (such as the double bind)?

> Technology and interconnection is kinda neutral here, it has helped to raise awareness of the problems but has also helped to spread misinformation and lies by the likes of Prager U And their ilk

I agree that technology is value-neutral. my perspective is that just as its easier to spread misinformation, its also easier to compare different accounts of the truth and attempt to check them for consistency. If there had been social media in the 20s its likely that the Illinois Radium Girls may have heard about the legal proceedings in New Jersey, or possible that they would have heard about the dangers of radium (which were known in medical and scientific circles at the time).

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#522

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a suggestion or thesis? It's not so hard that it couldn't be taught to average humans. Even if it was extremely hard, it should still be taught, considering its importance.

The problem is that, for many topics, there just isn't a reliable source to go to. Sure, if you want information on scientific topics, you have very good options - go to one of the celebrated journals and read some papers, or at least the press releases from those same journals. When it comes to current domestic affairs (has there been massive election fraud in the US? is ANTIFA terrorizing the US?) then the mainstre…

The mainstream media is a trustworthy source regarding election fraud and Antifa's terrorist activities? And "Breitbart are a disgusting organization whose aim is misinformation"?

It's not so much that the main stream media outlets lie about facts. They misrepresent them because they have a bias and a specific opinion on matters that it's so obvious to anyone that isn't on the left. Which is why people flock to other sources such as Breitbart, which at the very least, spins and interprets the events/info with a right-leaning worldview.

The overarching problem is that journalism has become a forum of opinion rather than facts + helping readers understand complex topics by digesting it for them. And it's no wonder we're becoming polarized, because we pick the "opinion" we like, rather than being given the facts and going with it, regardless from which source we get it.

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#523
post #475
post #349

This is pretty bad. As have been pointed out by multiple commenters in this thread a lot of the examples in this article and the underlying paper are simply incorrect. I'm Norwegian and I can say with extremely high confidence that three domains given as an example in the paper [1] (page 10): hrw.org, match.com and 163.com has never been blocked by any major ISP in Norway. However I do know that some piracy and gambl…

If you call your tool Censored Planet it certainly implies you have a conclusion in mind before you start collecting data.

It's succinct and relevant. What do you suggest is better?

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#524

The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Why can't I ask someone at the government directly exactly what their policy is on blocking websites, which sites are blocked, and what the legal basis for blocking is? And get a real, detailed, authoritative answer? And contest that answer if it does not meet legal s…

> The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Consider the notion that government has always been this way however its easier to tell this now because we are all so interconnected and informed.

Even so, the technological tools for surveillance and censorship are far more effective and widespread today than before. Surveillance might have meant tapping your phone, reading your mail or following you and all the manual labor and cost that entails a few decades ago. Today its conceivable to run a search across every email, call, message, photo, bank transaction, location signal etc a person has quickly and cheaply. The stakes are much higher when they are capable of so much more.

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#525

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a cynical take, a slightly less cynical take is that the rich and (privately) powerful have always tried to cement their power in form of organising a feudal-ish state and that the rest of us had to actively support democratising forces to counteracting them. What this means is having everything which lends itself to monopoly to democratic control, not private control, and to work together to make democratic c…

> What this means is having everything which lends itself to monopoly to democratic control, not private control, and to work together to make democratic control as efficient, localized and legitimate as possible. How do you feel about the perspective that democracies allow the majority (or plurality) to force their values on the rest of us? How do you feel about the notion that the rich and powerful are well acquain…

Those are good points. A political system is often more of an expression of a problem, historical or cultural, rather than the root.

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#526

The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Why can't I ask someone at the government directly exactly what their policy is on blocking websites, which sites are blocked, and what the legal basis for blocking is? And get a real, detailed, authoritative answer? And contest that answer if it does not meet legal s…

I don't get what any government has to do with it. Almost all information now is consumed via Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. These are private companies that has their own censorship rules and push their own agenda aggressively. Government has no control over this, even USA government as was seen recently when Facebook blocked links to NYT articles and Twitter was censoring Trump twits. All other countries (exce…

Essentially the US replicated what the USSR had as state censorship but with private corporations and it is impacting international communication not only US. The best part is that some people think it is for the greater good. When you would like to talk about it you are getting downvoted.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't get what any government has to do with it. Almost all information now is consumed via Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. These are private companies that has their own censorship rules and push their own agenda aggressively. Government has no control over this, even USA government as was seen recently when Facebook blocked links to NYT articles and Twitter was censoring Trump twits. All other countries (exce…

Don't get the downvotes either. This is a somewhat valid point. I feel like many people, even here on HN really like to paint the world black and white in this regard. Everything bad we hear about Russia & China must undoubtedly be true, because it's reported by our press, and we have freedom of press, which means that our press never lies or has an agenda. At least when it comes to foreign affairs. So your Facebook…

They do and with the help of moderators.

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#528
post #483

The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Why can't I ask someone at the government directly exactly what their policy is on blocking websites, which sites are blocked, and what the legal basis for blocking is? And get a real, detailed, authoritative answer? And contest that answer if it does not meet legal s…

In this age among democracies it also isn't just governments that are blocking content -- it's companies that play gatekeeper in communications between people. People have stopped reading traditional forms of interpersonal communication, so my only way to get messages out to friends is through platforms like Facebook. Unfortunately, Facebook themselves like to play gatekeeper on what my friends see and don't see, whi…

> In this age among democracies it also isn't just governments that are blocking content -- it's companies that play gatekeeper in communications between people.

Sure but the government could do something about it, but they do not, partially because it supports their agenda. The recent congressional hearings made it quite obvious that the 3 big tech companies having the majority of internet traffic going through them are in sync when it comes to "moderation" enforcement.

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#529

The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Why can't I ask someone at the government directly exactly what their policy is on blocking websites, which sites are blocked, and what the legal basis for blocking is? And get a real, detailed, authoritative answer? And contest that answer if it does not meet legal s…

I don't get what any government has to do with it. Almost all information now is consumed via Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. These are private companies that has their own censorship rules and push their own agenda aggressively. Government has no control over this, even USA government as was seen recently when Facebook blocked links to NYT articles and Twitter was censoring Trump twits. All other countries (exce…

Perhaps this gives a clue as to why: https://about.fb.com/news/2018/05/announcing-new-election-pa...

Facebook uses an Atlanticist thinktank as an honest broker to censor information.

Re: ‘Extremely aggressive’ internet censorship spreads in the world’s democracies

#530

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The big problem in todays age is we can no longer assume the government is accountable to us, or even get straight answers from the right people there. Consider the notion that government has always been this way however its easier to tell this now because we are all so interconnected and informed.

Even so, the technological tools for surveillance and censorship are far more effective and widespread today than before. Surveillance might have meant tapping your phone, reading your mail or following you and all the manual labor and cost that entails a few decades ago. Today its conceivable to run a search across every email, call, message, photo, bank transaction, location signal etc a person has quickly and chea…

Yes those are good points.
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