Information Control in the Digital Age: The Journey From Internet Piracy to Full Spectrum Tyranny

Joe Wright
Activist Post

The online community has clearly stated its opposition to all government attempts doing the bidding of mega entertainment corporations, despite a massive lobbying effort by the industry. The economic concerns stated by organizations such as RIAA that have resulted in a massive number of lawsuits have also been called into question as entirely fallacious (infographic).

An extremely well-done short history of this journey that Internet controllers have embarked upon – first through anti-piracy legislation, and now cybersecurity – can be seen in a 25-minute video from AlJazeera’s ‘Fault Lines’ posted below.

As this video reveals, both forms of oppression have very little to with the stated protections which they claim to offer, and much more to do with a concern over the free-flow of information itself.

As this journey continues, we are faced with a familiar position taken by those who seek control; one that is perfectly revealed by Brian Boeting of the FBI’s Cyber Investigative Task Force:

Any type of activity online can be considered a security threat; because, as we said, the technology can be used for both good and for bad, and any type of activity we see – even that smaller and less exciting type of criminal activity – can be used as a bridge or a tool by anyone to facilitate some type of greater cyber attack.

This paranoid mentality of “potential threat” is the mantra of every security-surveillance state that has ever existed. It is one which has now been applied to the real world as well, and the Internet is the perfect place to ensure that the entire apparatus goes global.

A wave of terrorism legislation and police state buildup following 9/11 is coming to a head with programs such as the Domain Awareness System and the ultimate tracking and surveillance city of New York, serving as a physical model to be emulated across the nation.

If and when these two worlds of cyber and real are permitted to fully meet; where not only is one’s existence as a human being capable of daily activity and thought assumed to be part of the threatscape, but also every thought and action in the cyberworld a reason for full extrajudicial scrutiny and punishment, we will be living under the greatest totalitarian prison system that the world has ever known.

Until then, activism must increase across the spectrum if we are to retain any of which has previously led us to the concept of a free and prosperous society.