Internet Freedom Articles
← Back
Featured
← Back
This thesis takes an inside look at the Internet freedom movement, a loose coalition of groups working together to promote an open and free Internet. By looking at the movement through both the lens of traditional social movement theory, as well as new digitally-enabled collective action theory, I am able to conduct a deeper analysis of the processes of the movement.
If you believe that the mission of these internet governance organizations are to help build the infrastructure of a free, open, and neutral internet for every citizen of the world, then you, like me, will be sadly disappointed.
Information has never been so free. It can traverse the globe in seconds; it can spread out like a rapid wildfire; it can shape shift and fit into exactly the right spot at the right time. But most importantly, for the first time in history, you, yes YOU, can create it, share it, spread it. Information is finally cut free and democratized.
And this has a lot of people in power scared.
The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), the National Democratic Institute (NDI), and the Center for International Media Assistance (CIMA) have come together to create the Open Internet for Democracy Initiative, which seeks to build a network of open Internet advocates who champion the democratic values and principles that should guide the future development of the Internet.
The Open Internet for Democracy Advocacy Playbook serves as a companion piece to the Democratic Principles for an Open Internet, which is a framework for understanding what principles must be upheld in order for the internet to foster democracy.