The likelihood of John Perry Barlow, the American poet and cyber
libertarian’s 1996 Declaration of the Independence of
cyberspace being amended or even changed completely seems more and
more real with every passing cyber attack. With the freedom of the
internet coming under the scanner it is time to talk security, and
start weighing our options to save the ultimate tool for freedom of
expression in the present day. Policing the net, censorship of the
internet are some of the most talked about and debatable topics
today. With hackers thinking big and targeting countries, it is We
the people who need to put on that size L cap and start thinking of
ways to save our constitutional right.
The internet today acts as the public sphere. The web has given
every individual their own little private podium wherefrom they can
exercise their right of freedom of speech and expression. It is the
internet which carries the voice of the people far and beyond. The
net is a very powerful tool today, which has the ability to bring
people justice where needed and help them fight war in the modern
times.
The recent news of Google withdrawing from China, took up a lot
of news space. This was followed by renewed debate around the
Italian government convicting individual Google executives for
letting people upload video content of unacceptable nature. These
incidents saw people launch into a heated discussion on where to
draw the line where surveillance of the internet is concerned. Who
is to be blamed when things go wrong in the cyber world? Post the
Mumbai terrorism incident, India has also put in place IT amendment
acts giving the government the permission to be able to watch over
what data gets sent back and forth.
The people in the United Kingdom are often compared to Truman
Burbank in the very popular Jim Carrey film called the Truman show.
This Hollywood movie makes us realize the sheer horror of cameras
following every move you make. Now in reality however, it is not
often possible for governments to track each every individual in
the country nor is it a soothing thought for the citizens of the
country to be watched 24x7.
For this reason we need to think of putting good security checks
in place. The answer lies not in curbing the freedom of expression
on the net. We need to start thinking in the lines of investing in
and exploring cyber security options that will save money and loss
of business in the long run and protect nations and their
people.