Internet and Governance

What was the hacker community’s ethos on governance?

“We reject kings, presidents, and voting. We believe in rough consensus and running code.”

How did Turner describe the original internet ideal?

"A distributed communication system that would counteract the influence of 'fascists, strong men in business and government', in which organisation was levelled." (Turner, 2022

What did Pelchen state about the internet's impact?

"5.52 billion people use the Internet regularly to share, engage and consume information, cementing the Internet as a revolutionary tool." (Pelchen, 2024​

How did Farrell and Newman summarize the contested nature of the Internet?

The Internet, initially designed as a borderless domain of freedom, is increasingly a contested space where power dynamics and competing interests shape its future." (Farrell & Newman, 2021​

What is Turner's critique of internet governance?

"The growing privatisation of Internet governance has arguably undermined its initial democratic structure, in which social media companies have become radically commercialised and devoted to surveillance at every level." (Turner, 2022​

How does Castells characterize digital social networks?

"Digital social networks offer the possibility for largely unfettered deliberation and coordination of action." (Castells, 2012

How did O'Donnell describe Twitter activity during Egypt’s protests?

"The number of political tweets in Egypt increased from 2,300 to 230,000 daily during the week before President Mubarak's resignation." (O'Donnell, 2025

What did the Washington Times say about the Iranian Green Movement?

"Digital photos and videos proliferated and were picked up and reported in countless external sources safe from the regime's Net crackdown." (Washington Times, 2009​

How did Freedom House view the early internet?

"The Internet was viewed during this period as a force that would weaken authoritarian states and strengthen democracies." (Freedom House Report, 2023​

What role did Wikileaks play according to Freedom House?

"Shared truths are the foundation of cooperation, trust and democratic governance." (Freedom of the Net, 2023

What did Castells say about tools of empowerment being weaponized?

The very tools that empower civil society can be co-opted by authoritarian actors to dissent." (Castells, 2012

How does Beauchamp describe internet commercialization?

"The shift of control from citizens to private corporations erodes trust and privacy in democratic societies." (Beauchamp, 2019

What statistic does Sloan cite about false information?

"False information spreads six times faster than factual news." (Sloan, 2018

What Brexit campaign misinformation example does Eaton highlight?

The UK's supposed £350 million weekly contribution to the EU alongside the imminent potentiality of Turkish membership, both of which were false." (Eaton, 2016​

What threat to democracy does UNESCO highlight?

"Democratic governance is unsustainable without shared truths." (UNESCO, 2022​

What was Deibert’s comment on data commodification?

"The democratic process is no longer transparent or fair." (Deibert, 2020

What does DeNardis say about internet governance?

"Internet governance is no longer merely a technical issue; it is a proxy for geopolitical power." (DeNardis, 2014

What concern does Benkler et al. raise about emotional content online?

"The pursuit of engagement amplifies emotionally charged and polarising content." (Benkler et al., 2018

How does Segal describe authoritarian use of social media?

"Social media has become the battlefield where authoritarian regimes wage war." (Segal, 2024​

What does Benkler et al. claim about openness?

"The openness of digital platforms, initially heralded as an enabler of freedom, inadvertently makes them uniquely vulnerable to manipulation." (Benkler et al., 2018​

How does Kleinman describe Facebook's policy shift?

"Meta reduces fact-checking operations." (Kleinman, 2025

How does Castells define mass self-communication?

"Mass self-communication processes messages from many to many, connecting endless networks that transmit digitized information around the world." (Castells, 2012​

What does MacKinnon argue about internet freedom?

"Internet freedom is not possible without freedom from fear, and users will not be free from fear unless they are sufficiently protected from online theft and attack." (MacKinnon, 2012

What warning does Deibert issue about technology?

"It's as if we have sleepwalked into a new machine-based civilization of our own making, and we are just now waking up to its unforeseen consequences." (Deibert, 2020​

What trend in authoritarian repression does Freedom House identify?

"In more than three-fourths of the countries covered by the project, people faced arrest for simply expressing themselves online." (Freedom House, 2023

What role does AI play in disinformation, according to Freedom House?

"Generative artificial intelligence (AI) threatens to supercharge online disinformation campaigns... spurring a concerning escalation of these disinformation tactics." (Freedom House, 2023​

What conclusion does your essay reach about the internet?

The Internet, while inherently democratic in design, has been increasingly subverted by authoritarian regimes, corporate interests, and fragmented governance.