Next logical move for this administration: Internet Censorship of critical sites

Sabi ni Hillblogger:

You know, come to think of it...when you said that the internet, the blogosphere and other media of communicating have allowed people to let off steam - you pointed to probably the main reason why there's less physical "agitations" in the street against Gloria.

People protest through the blogosphere instead of going to the streets.

The new, accessible media have made people "a bit lazier". Unlike during the time of Marcos, Cory, even during Erap's time when people trooped easily to the streets to voice dissent.

it's tough to know if people now are a "bit lazier"... maybe Arroyo's aggressive effort to disperse rallies via CPR may have something to do with that.

I believe this admin is implementing the same violent policy the Middle East dictatorships have in dispersing rallies, that's why these dictatorships and theocracies were able to last this long... tignan nyo yung ginagawa ng Iranian gov't sa mga Iranian student protesters nila, bugbog sarado... and most of the iranian population are anti-Mullahs and against it's current gov't, pero hindi sila makapalag...

but you know what hillblogger, even our ability to protest on the net and expose this admin illegitimacy and corruption may change soon with the introduction of Internet Censorship in the Philippines.

First, the admin uses CPR to prevent us from holding anti-Arroyo rallies in the streets.

then, their next step was to harass and threaten the critical media into submission.

After that, the next logical move for this admin I believe is to control our Internets.

They say they're doing this to censor online porn raw. But I don't trust these admin senators, especially Bong Revilla. Next thing you know, pati yung mga political websites na critical sa ARroyo admin ay bina-ban na rin because they're "inciting to sedition" raw or a "national security risk".

And then next thing you know, we've become China:

Although the campaigns mainly target sites that contain sex and violence, those with sensitive religious and political content are also often banned.

The Chinese government announced revised Internet rules in September that require Internet operators to re-register their news sites and police them for content that can "endanger state security" and "social order."

Any content that "harms national security, reveals state secrets, subverts political power, (and) undermines national unity" is also banned.

The regulations further prohibit posts that "instigate illegal gatherings, formation of associations, marches, demonstrations or disturb social order."

Rebecca McKinnon writes that in China, The Internet is forbidden from inciting illegal protests.

China's latest efforts to control online news are being sold to the Chinese public by the Chinese media as an effort to protect innocent citizens from swindlers, pornographers, and rumor-mongerers. But everybody in China I've been communicating with over the past 12 hours thinks the real reason has to do with fear of the kind of thing depicted in the picture on the above right: smartmobs. This picture was taken by a blogger during the anti-Japanese protests (which occasionally turned into riots) last spring. The protests sprang up in true smartmob-fashion, mobilized by people on internet bulletin boards, mobile phone text messaging (SMS) and e-mail. (Thanks to Chris Myrick of Asiapundit for permission to use the picture.)

In case this interpretation is in any doubt, the expat blogger Danwei points out an interesting factoid:

"Today, The Beijing News dutifully reports on new regulations to control the internet, saying that the incitement of demonstrations on websites will now be banned. Juxtaposed with the story, however, is an admiring photograph depicting the thousands of anti-war protestors gathered in Washington on Sunday. We like to think that the irony was conscious."

Admiring? Or terrified? Clearly the authorities are connecting the need to prevent political protests and spontaneous activism with the need to tighten controls over online information. The headline reads: "The Internet is forbidden from inciting illegal protests."

Chinese news reports make it clear that the regulations include internet bulletin boards (BBS, as they're known in China) and SMS mobile text messaging. Should the regime be nervous about these technologies? You bet. After all, just a short flight away from Beijing in Seoul, South Korea sits a President who was elected thanks to a grassroots youth political movement galvanized by the online citizens' media news site OhMyNews, but which couldn't have been successful without the mobilizing power or chatrooms and SMS text messaging.