Scheme of things

The Internet was envisioned of, and often portrayed in popular media as an open medium of information and communication resources; a virtual manifestation of utopia in an omnipresent construction of technology. The image of a bastion of free speech and the unimpeded exchange of ideas that the Internet has inspired in the minds of many, is at best, a flimsy image of what the Internet actually is – or has turned out to be.

But this is not a doomsayer's rant about hackers, pornography and bomb-making instructions that the Internet is said to be rife with. Hackers, viruses and scams have always been part of the risk of our dependence on the Internet and as people with criminal intentions will always be a part of society, that risk will always have to be managed appropriately. It is no longer considered sensationalist to talk about the emerging presence of governments on the Internet and their increasing level of regulation and control over what we can and cannot know.

Practically everyone can agree that most hackers and all paedophiles are a threat to society and that they should not be allowed to use the Internet to perpetrate their crimes. Governments on the other hand, project a different image, claiming that they regulate and control Internet access to their citizens – only to safeguard them and to protect them from dangers such as terrorists and their propaganda. On the other hand, major players on the Internet such as Google, Yahoo, MSN and emerging social networking 'super-power' Facebook, always relied on the trust of their users that their websites were committed above all else to safeguard their users privacy and safety.

The Utopian image of the Internet may not however, be able to survive the union of government and the major players on the World Wide Web, as it was clear when Yahoo disclosed information to the Chinese government about one of its citizens – a journalist who dared to challenge the impositions of his government, ultimately resulting in his death. Google also has agreed to censor access to websites that have been specified by the Chinese government, from its citizens. Even though it is not done in the same scale as the Chinese government, the Internet access of Sri Lankans have also been censored to an extent – one of the prominent being the ban on tamilnet.com in Sri Lanka.

Exercise your democratic rights. Let us know what you think about government censorship of the internet, by writing to us at technopage@gmail.com