Liberté, egalité, internet

Abstract

Anti-liberalism in the Twenty First Century is measured on the internet. In fact, the internet has become the place where intolerance comes to the fore, where censorship is exercised and where online dissent is muzzled. Recent events in Turkey, where Prime Minister Erdogan outlawed access to social networks (twitter and youtube), are emblematic of just how allergic certain countries are towards the web. Virtual walls are erected in place of stone walls: some countries have put up electronic barriers in order to block access to part of the global internet, and have done so by cancelling keywords, names and phrases from search engines, or by violating the privacy of their citizens. A new “e-iron curtain” is descending across part of the world, with videos and blogs representing the modern-day samizdats. However, this confirms the liberal vocation of the internet, and the fear of this global freedom by technology-averse countries, which experience it as a threat to their absolute power.