A small window of opportunity still exists to protect access to information, freedom of speech and the democratic processes of the World Wide Web. (Redacted Edition) see note at end Congratulations to Google, Facebook, and other major tech companies that refused to co‑operate with authoritarian regimes seeking to install surveillance systems capable of tracking dissidents — systems that, in some countries, have led to arrests, torture, and even death. Thanks also to Facebook for taking a stand against employers demanding access to users’ private passwords, helping to preserve the right to individual privacy. Legislation such as ACTA, SOPA, and PIPA — framed as copyright protection but enabling mass tracking of online activity — has been defeated for now, but it is far too early to celebrate. In the space left by companies that declined to participate in such surveillance, other multinational firms stepped in, supplying monitoring technologies to governments with troubling human‑righ...
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