In the article, “Who is the true enemy of Internet freedom-China, Russia, or the US?” (Morozov, 2015), the author discusses the idea of who poses the bigger threat to a free Internet. I agree with what the author is trying to say, that China and Russia pose a danger to the free Internet, but America is also a threat despite of its contributions to the Internet.
In the article, it gives examples namely China, Russia, coming up with measures to achieve technological sovereignty. However, the moves/policies implemented by them may seem as a threat to the “free” Internet. However, I feel that their actions are justified.
China and Russia wish to have control over their own citizens, and to do so, they have taken measures to ensure such. For example, the Great Firewall of China. They do not want external influences acting among their people, which may cause unrest. Hence by implementing the firewall, it is essentially cutting off foreign, namely American, influence on their people. This gives the Chinese government much more control over its people, achieving sovereignty.
It is also to stake a claim on the Internet. Yes, it may sound absurd to stake a claim on the World Wide Web, as it is an infinite space. However, the Internet is now being overrun with American control and influence, due to the dominance of American Internet companies like Microsoft and Google. Unknowingly, America’s reach has spread to nearly worldwide, having a large stake in the Internet. All 3 – America, China and Russia – are global powerhouses, and they have to stamp their authority on the world. Hence, China and Russia have taken measures to do so.
One undeniable thing, is that there is a huge American influence over world, via the Internet. Actions have been taken by nations such as China and Russia, for self-defense from a technological perspective. From the article, Morozov states that “the US wants to access data generated by anybody anywhere as long as American companies handle it.” This implies that there is a possibility of America intruding one’s technological sovereignty ad privacy. Hence the reactions by nations such as China and Russia, are in return to America’s aggressive move in the first place.
In short, the measures taken by nations such as China and Russia, is to achieve sovereignty in today’s world. It is to assert dominance and power in an heavily-American-influenced world, and achieve sovereignty. As quoted from Morozov, “the concept of technological sovereignty is poised to emerge as one of the most important and contentious doctrines of 2015.”
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