How secure would a more open Internet be in the Middle East?
Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who disappeared in Egypt, was incarcerated by the government, and reemerged as a revolutionary leader, gave an interview to Harry Smith on “60 Minutes” Sunday night. He said that if there were no online social networks, this revolution would have never happened.
That’s something to think about as protests spread to Bahrain, Yemen, Iran, Algeria, and other countries around the region. And you can bet governments are mulling over the dangers of suppressing the Internet versus the dangers of letting people communicate wherever they want. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to be at George Washington University today to give a speech about Internet freedom.
But our guest, Evgeny Morozov says the notion of an “open Internet” can be a little misleading. He’s the author of “The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom.” He warns that governments may have sophisticated technology for spying on any Internet user within its borders, setting the stage for the kind of reprisals we say two years ago after protests in Iran.
He also says the American government’s leadership in the cause of online freedom is hampered by things like Wikileaks investigations and talk of an Internet kill switch.
Also in this show, at last it’s here: “The Great Gatsby” as an 8-bit video game.
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