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The internet will set us free—or will it? In this spirited critique of "internet freedom," blogger and commentator Evgeny Morozov shows how social media and web 2.0 do not always foster civic engagement and democratic reform. In fact, the net can make authoritarian governments even more powerful and repressive.
"The revolution will be Twittered!" declared journalist Andrew Sullivan after protests erupted in Iran. Yet for all the talk about the liberalizing force of the internet, regimes in Iran and China are as stable and repressive as ever. In fact, authoritarian regimes are effectively using the internet to suppress free speech and democracy. What's more, the latest research shows that greater access to information pacifies a population as much as it incites it to revolution. If we in the West are to promote liberal ideals, we'll have to do more than fund Facebook.
In this book, blogger and social commentator Evgeny Morozov tackles these issues with relentless energy and analytical savvy. Marshalling a compelling set of case studies, he shows why we must stop thinking of the internet and social media as instant cures for repression, and how, in some cases, they can even threaten democracy.
Marshaling compelling evidence, Morozov shows why we must stop thinking of the Internet and social media as inherently liberating and why ambitious and seemingly noble initiatives like the promotion of “Internet freedom” might have disastrous implications for the future of democracy as a whole.
Author Biography
Evgeny Morozov is a contributing editor to Foreign Policy and a regular contributor to Newsweek, The Economist, The International Herald Tribune, Prospect, Boston Review, and other publications. He was the 2009-2010 Yahoo! fellow at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and a 2008-2009 Open Society fellow at the Open Society Institute.
