Internet Freedom A Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age

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J U N E 2 0 1 1Internet FreedomA Foreign Policy Imperative in the Digital Age14 |III. Internet Freedomand Political ChangeThe Internet’s potential as a tool for politicalchange captivated top foreign policy officialsin 2009 during what was quickly dubbed Iran’sTwitter Revolution. The new awareness grew asprotestors used the Internet and text messages tospread information and coordinate efforts, andwas crystallized by the viral movement of a videodepicting the brutal slaying of a young Iranianstudent, Neda Agha-Soltan. The video, whichwas captured on a mobile phone and uploadedto YouTube, traveled across the Web and ontolocal and satellite television, prompting Obamato express his outrage at the killing. When thepresident of the United States uses a White Housepress conference to address material uploaded toYouTube, something fundamental has changed inthe nature of modern communications.The focus on Internet freedom grew as the ArabSpring gathered momentum a year and a half later.The wave of revolts across the Arab world, beginningin Tunisia, then sweeping across Egypt andinto Libya, Bahrain, Yemen, Syria and elsewherewere fueled in part by activists using tools such asFacebook, Twitter, SMS (text messaging) and otherplatforms. Several regimes took draconian steps tostop online organizing and communication. Thesense grew that the Internet mattered, but just howit mattered was not totally clear.In a sense, the Internet represents just the latestpart of a story that has unfolded for centuries.Communication technologies have played significantroles in political movements since antiquity,from the printing press that empowered theReformation, cassette tapes distributed by Iranianrevolutionaries in 1979, to fax machines used byPoland’s Solidarity movement and satellite televisiontoday. But the global nature of the Internet,its very low barrier to entry, its speed and thedegree to which it empowers the individual allmake it qualitatively different from earlier technologies.The Internet itself has become the focusof attention by dictators, democracy activists andobservers around the world.Does Internet Freedom Lead to Democracy?The United States promotes Internet freedombecause Americans believe in the freedom ofexpression, in any medium. The country alsopromotes it because American leaders have betthat, on balance, the increased availability of new,unfettered communications technologies abets thespread of democracy. But does it?Here we use the term “democracy” to mean a politicalsystem that is transparent and accountable tothe public through free and fair elections; includesactive political participation by the citizenry;protects human rights; and maintains a rule oflaw that is fair to all citizens. 25 This is obviously anideal, and democratic systems exhibit many variations,but this definition offers a useful standardfor measuring potential progress.Experts remain deeply divided, as shown in thetext box on the following page, as to whetherunbridled access to the Internet can help transformauthoritarian regimes over time and bring greaterfreedom to once-closed societies. Most attemptsto assess its impact rely on case studies, anecdotesor theory. The novelty of the phenomenon and thefew and widely varying data points pose notableanalytical challenges, and assessments requirea certain amount of subjective interpretation.Facebook clearly played a major role in building anopposition to the Hosni Mubarak regime in Egyptand in organizing protests. But after the governmentshut off the Internet, protests became bigger,not smaller. So did this demonstrate the Internet’slimited role as a tool of agitation? Or did theshutoff of cherished online tools itself spur enragedcitizens to demonstrate instead of staying home(possibly in front of a computer)?
Does the Internet Promote Democracy?Optimists“The Internet is above all the most fantastic means ofbreaking down the walls that close us off from oneanother. For the oppressed peoples of the world,the Internet provides power beyond their wildesthopes.” 26Bernard KouchnerFormer French Foreign Minister“It does make a difference when people inside closedregimes get access to information – which is whydictatorships make such efforts to block comprehensiveInternet access … [promoting Internet freedom]would be a cheap and effective way of standing withIranians while chipping away at the 21st-century wallsof dictatorship.” 27Nicholas KristofThe New York Times columnist“The Internet is possibly one of the greatest tools fordemocratization and individual freedom that we’veever seen.” 28Condoleezza RiceFormer Secretary of State“Without Twitter, the people of Iran would not havefelt empowered and confident to stand up for freedomand democracy.” 29Mark PfeifleFormer Deputy National Security Advisor“If you want to liberate a society, just give them theInternet.” 30Wael GhonimEgyptian Google Executiveand democracy activistSkeptics“The idea that the Internet favors the oppressedrather than the oppressor is marred by what I callcyber-utopianism: a naïve belief in the emancipatorynature of online communication that rests on a stubbornrefusal to admit its downside.” 31Evgeny MorozovAuthor of The Net Delusion“The platforms of social media are built around weakties … weak ties seldom lead to high-risk activism.” 32Malcolm GladwellThe New Yorker staff writer“Democracy isn’t just a tweet away.” 33Jeffrey GedminFormer President of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty“It is time to get Twitter’s role in the events in Iranright. Simply put: There was no Twitter Revolutioninside Iran.” 34Golnaz EsfandiariSenior Correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty“Techno-optimists appear to ignore the fact thatthese tools are value neutral; there is nothing inherentlypro-democratic about them. To use them is toexercise a form of freedom, but it is not necessarily afreedom that promotes the freedom of others.” 35Ian BremmerPresident of the Eurasia GroupIt has become axiomatic to say that the Internet doesnot itself create democracies or overthrow regimes;people do. This is obviously true, but if new communicationstools do matter – and there appears to be atleast nascent evidence that they do – then they can playa role in several distinct ways. An important reportissued by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP)presented a useful framework for examining how newcommunications technologies might affect politicalaction. The paper identifies five distinct mechanismsthrough which the Internet might promote (or be usedby regimes to block) democratic progress. 36 Here wedeepen the analysis of these mechanisms and add twoadditional factors that affect them.| 15
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