There's Going to be a Revolution

That's what I said to myself (and indeed on Facebook) yesterday morning.

Yesterday afternoon I encountered this article, which seemed to back me up.

I realise now, however, that I was wrong. There's not going to be a revolution; we're already in the middle of one.

It's a revolution of the people, using information as a weapon, against corrupt and self-serving governments all over the world.

I'm not talking about the Arab Spring or the Occupy movement. These movements used the internet for communication and mobilisation of their people, but were primarily driven by economic inequality, combined with rebellion against autocratic governments in the case of the Arab Spring.

I'm talking about revolution driven by the desire for free access to information and creative content. I'm talking about the Internet Freedom Revolution.

It's Julian Assange and Bradley Manning. It's Weev. It's Gary McKinnon. It's Kim Dotcom. It's ACTA, SOPA and PIPA.
And of course, it's Aaron Swartz.

So where are we heading now? Anyone who has thought about Aaron Swartz's death will realise that even ordinary, everyday use of the internet is now dangerous. People are becoming frightened.

And governments see that the internet is out of their control. They are desperately struggling to wrestle it back into order, afraid of the consequences if their people knew too much about what they are doing.

With both sides feeling frightened and cornered, a new phase of the IFR seems inevitable. The only solution is for governments to accept that transparency is preferable to cover-ups and lies, and that people deserve free access to the information they seek.