The Internet is Weakening Authoritarian States’ Information Control : Syria as a case study

• Previous research has identified information control as one of the most common traits of authoritarian regimes. With the advent of the Internet, however, attempts the ability to maintain a total blackout of selected types of information, such as anti-regime messages, dissident videos, etc., has weakenedve weakened. This article uses Syria as a case study to illustrate that despite the country’s regime’s pervasive Internet censorship methods of blocking dozens of websites, access to those websites remained possible. This was due to the emergence of censorship circumvention tools, which the present author argues are a form of liberation technology.

Subject headings

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Media and Communications (hsv//eng)

Keyword

liberation technology

information control

Syria

authoritarianism

censorship circumvention tools

Alkasir

Internet

Publication and Content Type

vet (subject category)

kap (subject category)