After reading about the power of social media in Iran, it's interesting (I think) to consider the government response.
This week, this is a hot issue in China. Apparently the Chinese government is not pleased with the potential for Web 2.0 applications to enable citizens to be journalists heard on an national or international stage, particularly in light of the Xinjiang protests/unrest/killings. There are reports of access issues to various Web 2.0 technologies.
The NY Times has an article that discusses the Chinese and Iranian governments' "Control 2.0" strategies.
Also, a blogger for The New Yorker has a little blurb on the issue.
Do you think governments can effectively halt the power of citizen reporting via these tools? At what cost? Or will the media be able to create long-term change in how these governments handle events?
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yes, the government can technically supress citizen reporting. The technology exists that will enable them to listen to everything anyone communicates via the web. Iran had it in place, aparently they did not know how to use it properly.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the governments can completely halt the reporting. Just look at the situation in Iran where protesters found away around the ban. I think that there may be a bigger backlash from the people of the country when the government tries to halt such reporting, especially since they can just get around it in some circumstances anyway.
ReplyDeleteThe government does have the power to control the application of new technology or the pattern how to use them. The problem is does it have the right to control?
ReplyDeleteI know right now the human right is a tough issue in China, I don't want to talk to. But maybe you guys heard a report that Chinese government recently published a new software, called Green Dam, which is used to filter the porn information. However, it does not work. There is a joke about it. The green dam will stop some webpages which has Garfield, because it is yellow..............(do you know what I mean).
So, the government has the right to do it or not depends on the government and the policies.
by the way, the wikipedia is not accessible in China, too.
ReplyDeleteThat's the truth.
Yes, governments often have the power to try to stop citizen reporting. However, their abilities are akin to a car alarm: no matter how sophisticated, every system can eventually be thwarted. The trick is to make the cost of overcoming the system too high (just like your car alarm encourages the thief to look for an easier target). On the flip side, the citizenry - when acting in concert - is a lot more capable than a small group of individuals.
ReplyDeleteThe true measure of success or failure in Iran will depend on how difficult the government makes things in relation to how motivated (and widespread) the citizens are. This is the same dynamic that factors when coups are attempted.
The wildcard in this will be the world observers. Will we care enough to get involved? Will other governments apply pressure through channels? Will reporters attempt to infiltrate and get reports out?
It may not be this event, but I believe in the long term that the information will flow, world-wide.
http://tinyurl.com/mbo2f7
ReplyDeleteToday's Huffington Post Blog is right on point