Politics of Restricting Social Media

Politics of Restricting Social Media

(Netbridge Global 2013)

Living in a democratic society like Australia or the United States affords us the ability to interact about social and political issues through mediums such as social media platforms, as we are relatively unrestricted in our ability to express our opinions on issues that matter to us. This is due to a political platform that in ‘most’ cases encourages input and allows for freedom of expression. But how is life for those people who live in repressed societies, where mediums such as social media are restricted and/or censored and freedom of expression is restricted due to political ideologies.

Internet and social media restrictions are widespread and extreme in some parts. Those nations with the highest levels of restrictions include:

*North Korea – many people have no online access and can only access an internal intranet that connects to politically controlled state media.

(Infosec Institute n.d.)

*Iran – social media sites such as facebook and twitter as well as political opposition sites are blocked. Iranian leaders recently joined facebook leading to hopes that maybe restrictions will be lifted in near future.

*China – use an extensive filtering system known as the ‘Great Fire Wall’ to censor social media for any content politically subversive and delete it. 
 

*Cuba – slow connections, high cost and tight controls mean only a small portion of population have access, higher proportion have access to government controlled intranet.

*Eritrea – most people have no access to internet. Government closely monitors online communication, including the monitoring of emails. All internet users are required to use one of three state owned internet service providers.

On top of these nations which have extreme restrictions there are high level restrictions in many of the Gulf Arab states and central Asia. In the Gulf Arab states political sites are blocked due to being seen as a threat. Since the Arab spring protests of 2010 authorities have increased the arresting of bloggers and others who post what is deemed as offensive to rulers or supporting political reform. In central Asia the strongest restrictions are in Turkmenistan where social media sites such as facebook, twitter and youtube are blocked and Uzbekistan where sites critical of the government are blocked (Foxnews 2012).

Looking at these cases where governments repress their citizens voice through restricting access to the internet and social media highlights just how lucky we are to live within a democratic society that values freedom of expression and thus does not restrict access that enables us to have a voice. How would life be for those who live under such repressed regimes?

References:

Blight, G, Pulham, S & Torpey, P 2012, ‘Arab spring: an interactive timeline of middle east protests’, The Guardian, 6 January, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2011/mar/22/middle-east-protest-interactive-timeline>.

‘Blocked: China’s great firewall’ [image], Netbridge Global 2013, China’s ‘great firewall’ impacting business productivity, Netbridge Global China Market Access, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://netbridgeglobal.com/insights/2013/02/chinas-great-firewall-impacting-business-productivity/>.

Bruce, S 2012, ‘Information technology in North Korea: a double-edged sword’, Japan Policy Research Institute, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://www.jpri.org/publications/workingpapers/wp118.html>.

Dewey, C 2013, ‘In Cuba, connecting to the internet costs four times the average annual salary’, The Washington Post, 8 October, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/10/08/in-cuba-connecting-to-the-internet-costs-four-times-the-average-annual-salary/>.

Great Wall of China 2014, Test any website and see in real-time if its censored in China, Greatwallofchina.org, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://www.greatfirewallofchina.org/>.

Foxnews 2012, ‘Internet censorship, restrictions around the globe’, foxnews.com, 14 December, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2012/12/14/internet-censorship-restrictions-around-globe/>.

Freedom of the Press 2013, Eritrea, Freedomhouse.org, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-press/2013/eritrea#.UtMadbSn6Cg>.

Pizzi, M 2013, ‘Iranian leaders sign on to social media, call for end to twitter ban’, Aljazeera America, 5 November, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/11/5/iranian-govt-signingontosocialmedia.html>.

‘Restricting social media’ [image], Infosec Institute n.d., Restricting social media at work, Infosec Institute, viewed 13 January 2014, <http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/restricting-social-media-at-work/>.