Evgeny Morozov: How the Internet strengthens dictatorships

http://www.ted.com TED Fellow and journalist Evgeny Morozov punctures what he calls "iPod liberalism" -- the assumption that tech innovation always promotes freedom, democracy -- with chilling examples of ways the Internet helps oppressive regimes stifle dissent.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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News & Politics

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• Evgeny
• Morozov
• TEDTalks
• TED
• talks
• Internet
• authoritarian
• regime
• dictatorship
• oppression
• technology
• net
• effect

[soundofgeek]

Online activism tends to be somewhat like prayer - 'doing something' without actually, like, doing something.

[mrlowdangle]

you have a problem with people with white skin?

dont blame all people with the same skin tone because of the actions of a few.. theres idiots and great people of all skin colours or 'races'

[aaaaaaaars]

It's the myth that totalitarian governments just spawn out of nowhere that is the false assumption.

The myth that there's still, behind the totalitarian government, a repressed and scared but sane population at large.

This is sadly not the case!

A government is always a mirror image of the population at large and people deserve the governments they get.

Turning that around, a totalitarian country will not have a lot of sane people in there.

This ain't no fairy tale.

[discostu333]

Great talk, Evgeny talks a lot of sense.

[gpomputius]

These are nice ideas, but as the Arab Spring and China's effective use of censorship demonstrates, the net effect appears to be far more harmful than helpful to these regimes. The internet makes it a lot easier for hidden knowledge (we all hate the dictator and want him deposed) to become public knowledge. Normally, stating that you hate the dictator would cost you your life. The internet makes it incredibly easy to share that sentiment with millions while not dying. A game changer.

[FractalBolt]

Yeah, dictatorships are getting stronger and more sinister, but hey, as long as I have access to my Porn (yeah, with capital P) I'm safe and sound.

[SizarieldoR]

60 astroturfers detected

[IanEColeman]

This guy is genius.

[kanojo1969]

This speech should resonate a lot more with the current Wikileaks situation. His assertion that the internet is useful for MISinformation as well as Information, means that the most valuable commodity in the digital age is the certainty of truth. Wikileaks is the first successful effort to develop a reputation for truth so leaks can be trusted.

Think about it, this is how the power of the net can be used to expose despots and free people.

[jawdust3]

the internet has ruined everything but I can't seem to stop using it.

[Slavestorms]

@graveyardpc So true. - 10 years after

I'd love to change the world

But I don't know what to do

So I'll leave it up to you

This refrain is so true, it always has been. Everybody wants to make the world a better place, in his own way. But because we all have other ways (we all have another interpretation of that better world and so there's no unity) it's very hard to do; So what happens: you don't know what to do and you forget about it, hoping that other people will do it for you

Government?

[Darc1228]

@jay19xxx Why are you here then? If your really trying to persuade people i think your preaching to the wrong choir. But maybe im so far down i dont even know wich way is up any more. I think you have a lot of anger, but i also think it could be directed at better places.