In the future, ‘the networked’ will sometimes form alliances with the Silicon Valley companies against Congress, but sometimes we are going to want and need to target our campaigns for change at the companies themselves. – Rebecca MacKinnon
There’s a real contradiction that’s difficult to explain to the West and the outside world about China and about the Internet. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Clear limits should be set on how power is exercised in cyberspace by companies as well as governments through the democratic political process and enforced through law. – Rebecca MacKinnon
When controversial speech can be taken offline through pressures on private intermediaries without any kind of due process, that is something we need to be concerned about. – Rebecca MacKinnon
The way I think liberties get eroded is not that all of a sudden you become an Orwellian state, but gradually it becomes harder for people with unpopular views to speak out without being in danger, be it from the state or just from the majority of the people who don’t like them. – Rebecca MacKinnon
While sanctions against Iran and Syria are intended to constrain those countries’ governments, they have had the unfortunate side effect of constraining activists’ access to free online software and services used widely across the Middle East, including browsers, online chat applications, and online storage services. – Rebecca MacKinnon
While the federal government is required by law to document publicly its wiretapping of phone lines, it is not required to do so with Internet communications. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Facebook is blocked in mainland China, but is used heavily by the rest of the Chinese-speaking world, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan. – Rebecca MacKinnon
It is time to stop debating whether the Internet is an effective tool for political expression and instead to address the much more urgent question of how digital technology can be structured, governed, and used to maximize the good and minimize the evil. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Like Syria, the government of Bahrain employs aggressive tactics to censor and monitor its people’s online activity. – Rebecca MacKinnon
I don’t think any foreign Internet company can effectively compete against Chinese companies in the Chinese market. The regulatory environment is so difficult that it’s almost impossible for foreigners to have an advantage over locals who have better political connections and who can manipulate the regulatory system much more effectively. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Whether or not Americans supported George W. Bush, they could not avoid learning about Abu Ghraib. – Rebecca MacKinnon
We willingly share personal information with companies for the convenience of using their products. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Laws and mechanisms originally meant to enforce copyright, protect children and fight online crime are abused to silence or intimidate political critics. – Rebecca MacKinnon
I know plenty of people in China who don’t like what their government does to the Falun Gong, but they don’t want to entrust their data to the Falun Gong, either. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Professional camera crews are rarely there when a bomb goes off or a rocket lands. They usually show up afterwards. – Rebecca MacKinnon
During the 1980s, when Japan’s economy was roaring and people were writing books with titles like ‘Japan is Number One,’ most Japanese college students didn’t make the effort to become fluent in English. – Rebecca MacKinnon
We’re going to get the Internet we deserve, and those people who are the most active in shaping the Internet to their liking are going to win out. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Amazon webhosting dropped Wikileaks as a customer after receiving a complaint from U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, despite the fact that Wikileaks had not been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime. – Rebecca MacKinnon
The critical question is: How do we ensure that the Internet develops in a way that is compatible with democracy? – Rebecca MacKinnon
Intermediary liability enables the Chinese authorities to minimize the number of people they need to put in jail in order to stay in power and to maximize their control over what the Chinese people know and don’t know. – Rebecca MacKinnon
It would be normal for anybody running a high-profile, politically controversial operation in China to anticipate worst-case scenario, and to do everything possible to guard against them. – Rebecca MacKinnon
There has been a rising tide of criticism about China’s treatment of foreign companies. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Over the past several decades, a growing number of investors have been choosing to put their money in funds that screen companies for their environmental and labor records. Some socially responsible investors are starting to add free expression and privacy to their list of criteria. – Rebecca MacKinnon
It becomes dangerous for somebody who doesn’t want their boss to know their sexual preference to use online networks to push for laws supporting gay marriage or same-sex partner rights if they can’t do so with a pseudonym. – Rebecca MacKinnon
You don’t have to be a nerd or a programmer or a network engineer to make a difference. – Rebecca MacKinnon
Clearly Google is searching for a way to do business in China that avoids them sending someone to jail over an e-mail. – Rebecca MacKinnon
