Iran and A New Era of Censorship

by Nathaniel Whittemore

categories: Social Media, Society, Technology

Published June 23, 2009 @ 10:17AM PT

"They Killed My Bro Koz He Asked: 'Where's My Vote' -June 17"

Information wants to be free. That mantra of the internet has grown and shaped ever since it was first uttered by Stewart Brand at the Hacker's Conference in 1984.

At no point has the political resonance of that statement been as tested as in the last few weeks in Iran. Under the pressure of a questionable election and the power of an autocratic state, protestors have been using Twitter and Facebook to get their message out. The world has watched alongside, even contributing by passing on tips for how to avoid censors, get around firewalls, and confusing the state machinery by setting time and place settings to Tehran specifications.

Internet author Clay Shirky wrote:

This is the first revolution that has been catapulted onto a global stage and transformed by social media. I've been thinking a lot about the Chicago demonstrations of 1968 where they chanted "the whole world is watching." Really, that wasn't true then. But this time it's true ... and people throughout the world are not only listening but responding. They're engaging with individual participants, they're passing on their messages to their friends, and they're even providing detailed instructions to enable web proxies allowing Internet access that the authorities can't immediately censor.

The New York Times yesterday wrote a piece about the changing nature of censorship, and the threat to Iran's state power that social media creates. Calling the battle between the state and citizens to a "cyberduel," the Times wrote:

Iran’s sometimes faltering attempts to come to grips with this new reality are providing a laboratory for what can and cannot be done in this new media age — and providing lessons to other governments, watching with calculated interest from afar, about what they may be able to get away with should their own citizens take to the streets.

One early lesson is that it is easier for Iranian authorities to limit images and information within their own country than it is to stop them from spreading rapidly to the outside world. While Iran has severely restricted Internet access, a loose worldwide network of sympathizers has risen up to help keep activists and spontaneous filmmakers connected.

I can't help but think about rugby, where the ball is thrown backwards and to the side, ever avoiding the gridlock of the scrum in an attempt to move slowly but surely down the field. This is the political organizing power of networks; even when some part of the movement gets shut down, they pass not only the message, but now the media to convey the righteousness of their cause along the grid.

It's still unclear how this will end, but the world is shifting before our eyes.