Top Shelf

The Internet is a new public sphere that allows for the breakdown between barriers that separate the individual and the state fostering democracyKarolak 11 (Magdalena Maria Karolak New York Institute of Technology College of Arts and Science, Adliya, Kingdom of Bahrain “CIVIL SOCIETY AND WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGY: A STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN” Summer 2011)

Habermas believed that new technologies, especially the spread of commercial mass media, were detrimental to the public

sphere. Many scholars saw however that new forms of communication created an unprecedented opportunity for the growth of civil society. Castells (2007) goes as far as to say that the Internet can constitute an alternative to classic forms of civic engagement. The Internet is regarded as the new space, the "alternative public sphere where, for instance, politics and the people can meet again

and finally start communicating" (Ester & Vinken, 2003, p.669). The Internet is one of the most important

developments in communication technology and the advantages that it offers to citizens are innumerable. The Internet breaks the monopoly of communication that was previously confined to traditional elites, such

as the government, church or political parties. It empowers each individual to become a political broadcaster and voice his/her opinions on an equal footing with any other user. It fosters pluralism because in

cyberspace there are no set answers in the form of dominant ideologies. Communication is

characterized by informality, which may in turn encourage further freedom of expression. Moreover the Internet creates an area that is difficult for the government or other entities to control - an important

advantage in states where media are centrally controlled. Another strength of the Internet lies in its accessibility. The users can access the network in their own time and be in instant contact with whoever is connected. The Internet can potentially connect the sender to an unlimited number of users. It enables the creation of new networks such as chat rooms, web forums and mailing lists. It helps not only challenge the official ideologies but also furthers dialogue and shapes opinions. The Development of democratic values can occur through "processes of diffusion and through practice at democratic discussion." (Gibson, 2002, p. 189)

Citizen journalism via the Internet develops an informed citizenry and increases democracyKhamis and Vaughn 11 (Dr Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn , “Cyberactivism in the Egyptian Revolution: How Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism Tilted the Balance” Issue 13 of Arab Media and Society, Summer 2011)

An equally significant concept worth defining is citizen journalism, which provides ordinary citizens the opportunity to document their own version of reality and tell their own side of the story. It is

distinguished from professional journalism in that ordinary citizens use digital media tools to report on events on the ground, uploading text and videos directly to the Internet or feeding the information and videos to media outlets. Therefore we can contend that citizen journalism “is a promising new breed of news-making that has been championed by various scholars...[for]

granting ordinary citizens a novel, hands-on role” (Reich, 2008, p. 739). Citizen journalism “gives people a voice and therefore power. The people’s participation itself and what they produce are regarded with the hope to contribute to an informed citizenry and democracy” (Nip, 2006, p.

212). Citizen journalism assumes that “average citizens are capable of intelligent judgment, mature understanding, and rational choice if offered the opportunity; in other words, that

democracy as ‘self-government’ is not a dream but a practical premise” (Rosen, 1994, p. 18).

The Internet strengthens all forms of citizen-based media by allowing differing ideas and viewpoints to converge and proliferateAjemian 8 (Pete, PhD from University of St. Andrews who studied media, politics, and security in the Arab World, “The Islamist Opposition in Jordan and Egypt” Arab Media and Society Journal, January 2008)

To understand how online media enable opposition groups to establish counter- public spheres of media discourse, one should look beyond the net’s increased interconnectivity, speed and its compatibility with networked organizations. Instead,

the benefits of media convergence, bringing together print, video and broadcast in cyberspace, best explain how sub-state groups can circumvent their marginalization in mainstream media outlets. This phenomenon has shifted the power to create media content downward to a new range of small producers, while the reach enabled by new media shifts outward,

allowing groups and individuals to transmit their media content to a global audience.vi Opposition group websites that feature print media, radio broadcasts and video footage are the technical side of media convergence. However, while websites have come to serve as an important resource for the dissemination of print and

broadcast media, blogs best demonstrate how media convergence empowers individuals to shape media counter-public spheres. Blogs intersect and compliment existing transnational media, allowing for dissident groups and their sympathizers to tap into the mainstream. vii

Blogs also differ from websites in their low cost and user-friendly operability and maintenance. Some indicate that as a form of expression they have the potential to be a significant channel of ‘democratic’ discourse in Muslim contexts since blogging requires little technical knowledge, hosting can be free, and users can easily communicate widely with one other. viii At the same time, these individualized media platforms can cut against top- down leadership structures, and damage unity of message.

Blogs are key to developing a public sphere that fosters political activism in Arab statesLynch 7 (Marc, “Blogging the New Arab Public”, Arab Media & Society (February, 2007) associate professor of political science at Williams College. He received his PhD from Cornell University)

Although blogging activity is limited in Bahrain, the community has been able to continue to participate in the creation of civil society in Bahrain. It provides a check on elected politicians and exercises pressure to safeguard freedom of speech. Added to the growing numbers of NGOs, Bahrain’s population can enjoy a beneficial impact of what Putnam describes as the inculcation "of skills of

cooperation as well as a sense of shared responsibility for collective endeavors. Moreover, when individuals belong to 'cross-cutting' groups with diverse goals and members, their attitudes will tend to moderate as a result of group interaction and cross-pressures." (p. 90). Ultimately, blogs are a technology which requires political actors and opportunities to become relevant. Rather than

focus on whether blogs alone can deliver democracy or a political revolution, analysts should explore the variety of ways in which blogs might transform the dynamics of Arab public opinion and political activism. Even if expectations that a few courageous blogs could shatter the wall of fear sustaining brittle Arab states have

been overblown, blogs could nevertheless allow ordinary Arabs to re- engage with politics, hone their analytical and argumentative skills, and escape the state- driven red lines which even the most independent of Arab media are forced to acknowledge. Blogs allow for “a widely dispersed set of interlinked arguments about politics that responds with extraordinary rapidity to new events.”6 National

blogospheres can create a space in which citizens are able to engage in sustained, focused

political argument, and perhaps even hold national leaders to account in ways not managed by existing media. The ability of blogs to expose a Kuwaiti parliamentary candidate's vote buying, or to publicize the mistreatment of ordinary Egyptians in local police stations, could be only the cutting edge of new ways of enhancing political

accountability and transparency. The dialogues and interactions on blogs, finally, may contribute to the rebuilding of transnational Arab identity by creating “warm” relationships among otherwise distant Arab youth. These blogs are chipping away at the encrusted structures of

the Arab punditocracy, bringing in new voices which previously had no outlet, and challenging the norms and expectations governing Arab public political discourse. In short,

even if Arab political blogs are unlikely to lead a revolution, they hold out the prospect of a new kind of Arab public sphere which could reshape the texture of politics in the decades to come. 7

Blogging helps create public spheresLynch 7 (Marc, “Blogging the New Arab Public”, Arab Media & Society (February, 2007) associate professor of political science at Williams College. He received his PhD from Cornell University)

Whether or not blogs can constitute a public sphere has been a matter of great debate in recent years.52 Habermas himself has speculated that blogs can only constitute a public sphere when they “link up” to the mass media. Until this happens, goes the argument, blogs will remain a phenomenon on the margins of the public sphere, with satellite television stations and national newspapers remaining far more important to mass politics. Even a relatively free sub-public in which political

arguments and ideas are publicly exchanged is no small thing in the Arab political context. But in fact linkages between blogs and mass media are becoming increasingly common. Egyptian newspapers

such as Al Masry Al Youm and Al Dustour have published excerpts from blogs and routinely cite them in their stories. Al-Jazeera has recently launched ‘al-Jazeera Talk,” an online portal which offers posts by its correspondents, forums,

and a link to the Arabic blog aggregator Dwenn.53 This new blog-based public sphere challenges the “punditocracy” directly, as entrenched elites lose some of their power to dictate the terms of debate and frames of reference. The punditocracy still has the real advantages of access to privileged positions in

the mass media, but can no longer bound or seal off public discourse. Blogs have offered a similar—if less full-blown

—challenge to the encrusted, rigid structures of the Arab punditocracy. Today’s public-sphere bloggers offer the tip of an iceberg of politically savvy, engaged citizens determined to argue in public about the things which

matter to them. Blogs tap into the same deep appeal captured by Al Jazeera, which thrived by embracing more participatory forms such as unscreened call-in shows, live talk shows, online polls. But even Al Jazeera could only expand the range of existing voices rather than enable a new generation of political voices. Whether these

blogs can live up to Habermasian ideals of rational-critical discourse is beside the point. The key contribution of Arab public-sphere bloggers is as the leading edge of a new engagement with politics by Arab citizens. That these public debates are still limited to very small numbers, or that many blog under pseudonyms, is hardly a major problem: how many people actually attended literary salons in Habermas’s idealized eighteenth century (few), and how many important political tracts were published under pseudonyms (many)? What matters is the arguments

themselves, and the political identities, commitments, and ideas they generate. Blogs give young Arabs frustrated with the status quo an outlet to “voice their concerns and ideas in spaces where they will be taken seriously and where results are possible.”54

Digital networks increase the civil society’s engagement with the government in turn amplifying accountabilityFaris and Etling 08 (Robert Faris is Research Director at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. Bruce Etling is Director of the Internet & Democracy Project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. “Madison and the Smart Mob” Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Summer 2008)

The recent turbulence in Pakistan punctuated by the demonstrations in the fall of 2007 is indicative of a country struggling to hold on to de- mocracy. The government of Pervez Musharraf has pursued the standard route to consolidating power by seeking to concentrate power in govern- ment institutions under its control and either sidelining or eliminating the opposition. In 2007, the chief justice of Pakistan’s supreme court, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, was dismissed by Musharraf and later placed under house arrest. The story does not end there, however. In an unusual scene reported by the BBC, Chief Justice Chaudhry surreptitiously addressed a gathering of 500 lawyers using a cell phone from his home as part of a protest against the consolidation of power by the Musharraf government.27 Chaudry’s reinstatement as chief justice in March 2008 was a

victory for the separation of powers in Pakistan. This scene does not fall neatly into either the horizontal or vertical

processes described earlier: it constitutes a more complex hybrid or diagonal process. The balance of power between government agencies is naturally mediated somewhat by the engagement of

civil society and nongovernmental organizations. If digital networks can be leveraged to support the independence of judiciaries and constrain executive power, then the case for improving democracy using these tools is stronger. It may be that an untapped, and perhaps less

obvious, potential for the Internet to impact horizontal processes may be what some call “diagonal accountability.” This occurs when citizens or grass roots groups amplify a government’s own pre-existing accountability mechanisms, such as public disclosure of assets for candidates and govern- ment officials. The term “diagonal,” however, may be somewhat misleading because this approach may not constitute a new path for governance and accountability. It is more likely to entail the leveraging of vertical processes to support the horizontal.

The Internet enhances freedom of speech where conventional forms of media cannotFaris and Etling 08 (Robert Faris is Research Director at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. Bruce Etling is Director of the Internet & Democracy Project at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. “Madison and the Smart Mob” Fletcher Forum of World Affairs, Summer 2008)

Many of the promising examples of citizens using digital technologies toward political purposes map well against the factors that contribute to democracy as described by democracy scholars. Freedom of expression and an independent media have been identified as critical elements in a democracy. Despite the efforts of many countries around the world to control Internet speech, the overall net impact of the Internet and cell phones on free speech is unquestionably positive. In most, if not

all, countries around the world, the range of speech that can be found on the Internet far exceeds that found in traditional offline sources and the broadcast media. Online anonymity can promote free speech in countries where those who speak out are at risk of government harassment and arrest.

Blogs are key to challenging elitist controlled discourseLynch 7 (Marc, “Blogging the New Arab Public”, Arab Media & Society (February, 2007))

The greatest impact of blogs, however, will likely be in their contribution to revitalizing and transforming Arab public spheres. New forms of public argument and discourse, among a vastly

expanded range of voices, will make it ever more difficult for narrow elites to monopolize the field of discourse. Arab mass media outlets will likely look for ways to incorporate these new voices and platforms .67 This should not be taken to mean that these new publics will necessarily be more pro-American or even more liberal: as a wider range of voices join blogospheres, they would likely reflect more accurately the general distribution of attitudes among at least the educated, elite Arabs who are likely to blog.

The Internet opens up an entirely new sphere where individuals engage in the most open form of decision making with respect to all forms of varying ideological pathways -this is vital to creating true democratic engagementVinken 4 (Hank, Institute for Globalization and Sustainable Development, “Changing life courses, new media, and citizenship” July 2004)

Scholarly literature on the Internet seems to suggest that at least the Internet may serve this role as it has strong ties to the basic cultural, social, and political characteristics of contemporary society (see Ester & Vinken, 2003). The Internet emerges from these characteristics of today’s society as well as strongly contributes to them.

Culturally, today’s society provides space for autonomous construction of meaning and builds on individuals who functions within multiple cultures. The Internet is a constitutive force as it

precisely adds to these features. It allows for the creation of multiple identities and symbolization of

selves in a setting where no culture is dominant. In which, in other words, the individual can imagine a future of a continuously changeable and challenged self. Socially, contemporary society and its permeable institutions allows and demands people to develop partial commitments, establish ‘weak tie’ relationships and to combine diverse sets of social identities and roles based on shared interests more than on social categorizations. The Internet, in turn, is the space that promotes and pressures people to connect and disconnect relationships at high speed, to experience heterogeneity in these relationships, and indulge in supportive environments and communities without social burdens or inhibiting social cues. In other words, it allows the individual to engage in relationships and community life without running the risk of making irreversible commitments; commitments that would impede on the desired openness and changeability of one’s life course. Politically, present-day society confronts the citizen with a wide variety of agencies and organizations (political movements, parties, and interest groups) each with divergent repertoires of action and political expression, and each targeted to influence a diversified set of political

actors. Internet, in turn, offers the alternative avenues of engagement. It may function as a public sphere, as a tool for boosting real life politics, as well as a new reality in itself. The Internet is, as argued,

probably functioning more as an alternative reality, benefiting non-mainstream political actors, when political culture is less open for alternative political views. Therefore, the Internet can function as the ultimate alternative route to democratic engagement participation of specific groups in society’s decision-making platforms (young people, women, gays, ethnic minorities, etc.).11

The Internet is vital to the discovery of truth and the advancement of society as a wholeLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

Very few if any developments in information technologies have had such a revolutionary effect as the creation of the Internet. Unlike any other medium of communication, such as radio, television and printed

publications based on one-way transmission of information, the Internet represents a significant leap forward as an interactive medium. Indeed, with the advent of Web 2.0 services, or intermediary

platforms that facilitate participatory information sharing and collaboration in the creation of content, individuals are no longer passive recipients, but also active publishers of information. Such platforms are particularly valuable in countries where there is no independent media, as they enable individuals to share critical views and to find objective information. Furthermore, producers of traditional media can also use the Internet to greatly

expand their audiences at nominal cost. More generally, by enabling individuals to exchange information and ideas instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders, the Internet allows access to information and knowledge that was previously unattainable. This,

in turn, contributes to the discovery of the truth and progress of society as a whole.

Internet access functions on two levels, infrastructure and contentLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

In this regard, the Special Rapporteur would like to underscore that access to the Internet has two dimensions: access to online content, without any restrictions except in a few limited cases permitted under international

human rights law; and the availability of the necessary infrastructure and information communication technologies, such as cables, modems, computers and software, to access the Internet in the first place. The first dimension is addressed in Chapter IV of the report, which outlines some of the ways in which States are restricting the flow of information online through increasingly sophisticated means. The second dimension is examined in Chapter IV. The Special Rapporteur intends to explore the latter issue further in his future report to the General Assembly.

Access to public information is a benchmark of democracyLigabo 4 (Ambeyi, Special Rapporteur to the UN on freedom of opinion and expression, “Civil and Political Rights, including the question of freedom of expression” December 17th, 2004)

The Special Rapporteur wishes to commend the work done by the Open Society Justice Initiative, which in 2003 carried out a pilot study to develop a tool for monitoring access to information. The study had the objective of assessing whether national laws are effectively implemented in conformity with international standards and to aid civil society groups in promoting

transparency and good governance. Indeed, the right of access to information held by public bodies has become a benchmark of democratic development and approximately 60 countries around the world now

have laws establishing mechanisms for the public to request and receive Government-held information. A variety of factors, ranging from civil society campaigns to pressure from intergovernmental organizations and multilateral donors, pushes Governments and legislatures to adopt freedom of information laws.

Access to information and freedom of expression are critical to alleviate health crisesArticle 19 2011 (Article 19 Global Campaign for Free Expression, “World Health Day: Right to Information & Freedom of Expression - a Lifeline for Right to Health” April 7th, 2011 http://www.article19.org/ )

A survey of global health problems in April 2011 reveals the importance of the right to information and freedom of expression – as well the free flow of information and transparency – for the protection of the right to the highest attainable standard of health. Across the world, but particularly in sub-Saharan African states such as Kenya, a lack of training on HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for medical workers, as well as limited access to current information about HIV/AIDS for the population at

large, impedes the realisation of health rights and development goals. The inability to access health related information and, often as a result, voice concerns about health related issues impacts upon women, girls, people with disabilities, refuges and vulnerable groups disproportionately. The lack of broad range of health related information for women and girls in Malawi means that they lack the capacity to

make better decisions affecting their sexual, reproductive and maternal health. Insufficient access to health information exacerbates the predicament of refugees in the Middle East, particularly in Tunisia, who currently face inadequate access to medical treatment and overcrowded hospitals. The non-transparent manner in which global and regional trade agreements are negotiated appears to erode access to information and participation in public affairs of marginalized groups – as well as their right to health. For example, the secrecy surrounding the agreement of the new regional trade agreement in the Pacific region – the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement – effectively works against the interests of women and children, and those living in extreme

poverty. The protection of the right to information and freedom of expression is also extremely important during situations of humanitarian crisis. The global nuclear industry and states have been unable to provide clear and understandable information and communication to the Japanese people and the global public at large about the scale and impact of the recent nuclear disaster in Japan, including importantly its impact upon the

human health in Japan and beyond. These global snapshots show that the right to information and freedom of expression are relevant for the realization of the right to health in a number of ways. People need to know about the scope and content of their right to health allowing them to assess whether their rights are being respected in the first place. In addition, individuals, as

well as states, international human rights authorities (such as the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), civil society and the media need to be able to monitor and scrutinize a state’s implementation of its obligations to protect, respect and fulfill the right to health. People need to be able to voice their concerns about health policies and participate more effectively in democratic decision-making about health issues at the community, national and international levels. And finally, people need to able to claim their right to health and ensure that it is enforced, including through litigation

Blogging Good

Blogging helps keep the government accountable and helps form a sense of collective unity amongst individuals Karolak 11 (Magdalena Maria Karolak New York Institute of Technology College of Arts and Science, Adliya, Kingdom of Bahrain “CIVIL SOCIETY AND WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGY: A STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN” Summer 2011)

Blogs are key to developing a public sphere that foster political activism in Arab statesLynch 7 (Marc, “Blogging the New Arab Public”, Arab Media & Society (February, 2007) associate professor of political science at Williams College. He received his PhD from Cornell University) Although blogging activity is limited in Bahrain, the community has been able to continue to participate in the creation of civil society in Bahrain. It provides a check on elected politicians and exercises pressure to safeguard freedom of speech. Added to the growing numbers of NGOs, Bahrain’s population can enjoy a beneficial impact of what Putnam describes as the inculcation "of skills of cooperation as well as a sense of shared responsibility for collective endeavors. Moreover, when individuals belong to 'cross-cutting' groups with diverse goals and members, their attitudes will tend to moderate as a result of group interaction and cross-pressures." (p. 90). Ultimately, blogs are a technology which requires political actors and opportunities to become relevant. Rather than focus on whether blogs alone can deliver democracy or a political revolution, analysts should explore the variety of ways in which blogs might transform the dynamics of Arab public opinion and political activism. Even if expectations that a few courageous blogs could shatter the wall of fear sustaining brittle Arab states have been overblown, blogs could nevertheless allow ordinary Arabs to re- engage with politics, hone their analytical and argumentative skills, and escape the state- driven red lines which even the most independent of Arab media are forced to acknowledge. Blogs allow for “a widely dispersed set of interlinked arguments about politics that responds with extraordinary rapidity to new events.”6 National blogospheres can create a space in which citizens are able to engage in sustained, focused political argument, and perhaps even hold national leaders to account in ways not managed by existing media. The ability of blogs to expose a Kuwaiti parliamentary candidate's vote buying, or to publicize the mistreatment of ordinary Egyptians in local police stations, could be only the cutting edge of new ways of enhancing political accountability and transparency. The dialogues and interactions on blogs, finally, may contribute to the rebuilding of transnational Arab identity by creating “warm” relationships among otherwise distant Arab youth. These blogs are chipping away at the encrusted structures of the Arab punditocracy, bringing in new voices which previously had no outlet, and challenging the norms and expectations governing Arab public political discourse. In short, even if Arab political blogs are unlikely to lead a revolution, they hold out the prospect of a new kind of Arab public sphere which could reshape the texture of politics in the decades to come. 7

Blogging Good

Blogging helps create public spheresLynch 7 (Marc, “Blogging the New Arab Public”, Arab Media & Society (February, 2007) associate professor of political science at Williams College. He received his PhD from Cornell University)

Whether or not blogs can constitute a public sphere has been a matter of great debate in recent years.52 Habermas himself has speculated that blogs can only constitute a public sphere when they “link up” to the mass media. Until this happens, goes the argument, blogs will remain a phenomenon on the margins of the public sphere, with satellite television stations and national newspapers remaining far more important to mass politics. Even a relatively free sub-public in which political arguments and ideas are publicly exchanged is no small thing in the Arab political context. But in fact linkages between blogs and mass media are becoming increasingly common. Egyptian newspapers such as Al Masry Al Youm and Al Dustour have published excerpts from blogs and routinely cite them in their stories. Al-Jazeera has recently launched ‘al-Jazeera Talk,” an online portal which offers posts by its correspondents, forums, and a link to the Arabic blog aggregator Dwenn.53 This new blog-based public sphere challenges the “punditocracy” directly, as entrenched elites lose some of their power to dictate the terms of debate and frames of reference. The punditocracy still has the real advantages of access to privileged positions in the mass media, but can no longer bound or seal off public discourse. Blogs have offered a similar—if less full-blown—challenge to the encrusted, rigid structures of the Arab punditocracy. Today’s public-sphere bloggers offer the tip of an iceberg of politically savvy, engaged citizens determined to argue in public about the things which matter to them. Blogs tap into the same deep appeal captured by Al Jazeera, which thrived by embracing more participatory forms such as unscreened call-in shows, live talk shows, online polls. But even Al Jazeera could only expand the range of existing voices rather than enable a new generation of political voices. Whether these blogs can live up to Habermasian ideals of rational-critical discourse is beside the point. The key contribution of Arab public-sphere bloggers is as the leading edge of a new engagement with politics by Arab citizens. That these public debates are still limited to very small numbers, or that many blog under pseudonyms, is hardly a major problem: how many people actually attended literary salons in Habermas’s idealized eighteenth century (few), and how many important political tracts were published under pseudonyms (many)? What matters is the arguments themselves, and the political identities, commitments, and ideas they generate. Blogs give young Arabs frustrated with the status quo an outlet to “voice their concerns and ideas in spaces where they will be taken seriously and where results are possible.”54

“New Media” Good

The Internet strengthens old forms of media by allowing differing ideas and viewpoints to converge and proliferateAjemian 8 (Pete, PhD from University of St. Andrews who studied media, politics, and security in the Arab World, “The Islamist Opposition in Jordan and Egypt” Arab Media and Society Journal, January 2008)

To understand how online media enable opposition groups to establish counter- public spheresv of media discourse, one should look beyond the net’s increased interconnectivity, speed and its compatibility with networked organizations. Instead, the benefits of media convergence, bringing together print, video and broadcast in cyberspace, best explain how sub-state groups can circumvent their marginalization in mainstream media outlets. This phenomenon has shifted the power to create media content downward to a new range of small producers, while the reach enabled by new media shifts outward, allowing groups and individuals to transmit their media content to a global audience.vi Opposition group websites that feature print media, radio broadcasts and video footage are the technical side of media convergence. However, while websites have come to serve as an important resource for the dissemination of print and broadcast media, blogs best demonstrate how media convergence empowers individuals to shape media counter-public spheres. Blogs intersect and compliment existing transnational media, allowing for dissident groups and their sympathizers to tap into the mainstream.vii Blogs also differ from websites in their low cost and user-friendly operability and maintenance. Some indicate that as a form of expression they have the potential to be a significant channel of ‘democratic’ discourse in Muslim contexts since blogging requires little technical knowledge, hosting can be free, and users can easily communicate widely with one other.viii At the same time, these individualized media platforms can cut against top- down leadership structures, and damage unity of message.

Facebook Good

Facebook provides support for movements and allows existing channels of information to be questionedKarolak 11 (Magdalena Maria Karolak New York Institute of Technology College of Arts and Science, Adliya, Kingdom of Bahrain “CIVIL SOCIETY AND WEB 2.0 TECHNOLOGY: A STUDY OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN” Summer 2011)

The uses of social networks are innumerable for both protesters and their opponents, beyond the purpose of coordinating supporters for demonstrations. Facebook provides followers with real-time updates: pictures and videos taken during events are uploaded within minutes and shared with the community of followers. Facebook also carries witness accounts of events, often challenging existing channels of information. Moreover, it serves to coordinate help such as donations. Most importantly, it has an important psychological effect. Network users gain in solidarity and mutual support. Commonly emphasized feelings are sacrifice for the country and martyrdom.

ICT Good-Democracy

ICT helps fosters democratic engagement at all levelsQawasmeh and Owais 10 (E-Democracy in the Middle East: A Hard Approach, report from the Journal of Theoretical and Applied Information Technology, Eyas El-Qawasmeh- King Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Suhail Owais IT College, ASU, Amman, Jordan)

"E-Democracy represents the use of information and communication technologies and strategies bydemocratic actors within political and governance processes of local communities, nations and on the international stage. Democratic actors/sectors include governments, elected officials, the media, political organizations, and citizen/voters. To many, e-Democracy suggests greater and more active citizen participation enabled by the Internet, mobile communications, and other technologies in today’s representative democracy as well as through more participatory or direct forms of citizen involvement in addressing public challenges." [4].

ICT Solves Capitalism

The expansion of the Internet elevates the discussion of unjust neoliberal policies and provides unity for disjointed anti-capitalist movementsCleaver 98 (“The Zapatista Effect: The Internet and the Rise of an Alternative Political Fabric” Journal of Foreign Affairs, March 22nd 1998)

These manifestations of an historically new organizational capability were moments in the rapid crystallization of networks of discussion and debate that range far beyond the Zapatistas and Mexican politics. While the continental meeting of North America was organized by the Zapatistas themselves and held in Chiapanecan villages, the others were organized by a wide array of individuals and groups whose primary concerns lay not in Mexico but in local opposition to global policies. The Zapatista Call to discuss "neoliberalism" --the pro-market (a euphemism for pro-business) economic policies currently embraced by corporations, investors, governments, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank-- and possible global responses evoked a resonance within hundreds of diverse grassroots groups which had previously been unable to find common points of reference or vehicles for collaboration. Today, the global capacity for action that labor and social movements have sought for over a century is rapidly becoming a reality. In the European continental meeting in Berlin, for example, considerable effort went into discussion of whether or to what degree Latin American "Neoliberalism" finds its counterpart in not only the "Thatcherization" of the economy but also the more general move toward European Union embodied in the Maastricht Treaty, the Schengen Agreement and the plans for a common European currency. In the American continental meeting the connections, similarities and differences between Latin American austerity and structural adjustment programs and US-Canadian experiences with Reaganomic supply-side economics (the attack on the welfare state and the deregulation of business investment) and central bank tight money polices were similarly evaluated. The result of such deliberations was not only a consensus about the global character of contemporary policy, but a commitment to collective and coordinated opposition to it.15 Because of the emergence of this consensus and commitment, these meetings have turned out to be more than singular events. They can already be seen (in near-term historical hindsight) as generative moments in the coalescence of more and more tightly knit global circuits of cyberspacial communication and organization that threaten traditional top-down monopolies of such activity. Two examples, connected to the pro- Zapatista circuits, but autonomous of them can illustrate this wider phenomenon: one at the level of nation-states, one at the level of the private sector.

A2: Marx

Internet access is key to labor movementsCleaver 98 (“The Zapatista Effect: The Internet and the Rise of an Alternative Political Fabric” Journal of Foreign Affairs, March 22nd 1998)

Second, the superiority of multinational corporate communications over those of international labor has long been recognized but is now being challenged. In the past it has been extremely difficult for workers to coordinate multinational actions against common or interconnected employers during labor disputes. There have been movements of solidarity via boycotts, such as that which supported workers opposed to apartheid in South Africa in the 1980s but few effective international strikes. One example worth studying is the current internationalization of the struggles by Mersey dock workers in Liverpool, England to ports throughout the world. Coordinated strike actions have been taken in dozens of ports not only in symbolic solidarity but directly against ships carrying cargo to or from port facilities operated by Mersey Docks & Harbor Co. The sudden emergence of picket lines on ship arrivals has come in response to a very self-conscious effort on the part of dock workers to build a global system of Internet communication and to the support for them generated, once again, by the emerging coalition of anti-Neoliberal Internet operations which has proliferated in the wake of the Intercontinental meetings mentioned above.21 Although the dock worker actions just described appear as fairly traditional private sector conflicts, the content of the Internet messages circulating their efforts around the world connect them closely to such public policy oriented actions as those in Amsterdam. While a demand for the reinstatement of the Mersey dock workers figures centrally in all the protests, the arguments put forth about the urgency of a global response clearly situate this multinational strike within the broader framework of opposition to "neoliberalism." Both examples, therefore, must be understood as moments of a crystallizing network of opposition to such policies.

Internet Freedom Key to Cybersecurity

US promotion of Internet freedom abroad is critical to secure cyberspaceKnake 10 (Robert, International Affairs Fellow at CFR studying cyber war, Council on Foreign Relations report “Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Security” September 2010)

These principles should be applied to a three-part agenda. The United States should work to develop a stronger set of international regimes to fight crime in cyberspace, moving beyond the current Council of Europe Convention to draw in non-Western states, and develop real- time mechanisms for collaborating to stop cyberattacks in progress and investigate attacks across borders. Addressing cyber crime alone, how- ever, will not secure cyberspace. State actors should also be constrained through the development of new norms. The United States should not fear talks on these issues and should pursue treaties to protect the core functions of the Internet and ban distributed denial-of-service attacks. It should also reinvigorate efforts to secure the Internet’s underlying technologies, which were developed decades ago for a different purpose than they are being used for today.

Cyber Security K2 Internet

A secure Internet is necessary to ensure its reliability and use by individuals and governments alikeISFC 11 (International Strategy for Cyberspace, as released by the White House in May of 2011)

To realize fully the benefits that networked technology promises the world, these systems must func- tion reliably and securely People must have confidence that data will travel to its destination without disruption Assuring the free flow of information, the security and privacy of data, and the integrity of the interconnected networks themselves are all essential to American and global economic prosperity, security, and the promotion of universal rights Almost a third of the world’s population uses the Internet and countless more are touched by it in their daily lives There are more than four billion digital wireless devices in the world today Scarcely a half- century ago, that number was zero We live in a rare historical moment with an opportunity to build on cyberspace’s successes and help secure its future for U S citizens and the global community For these technologies to continue to empower individuals, enrich societies, and foster the research, development, and innovation essential to building modern economies, it must retain the openness and interoperabilitythathavecharacterizeditsexplosivegrowth Underlyingthesearetechnicalprinciples andeffectivegovernancestructuresthatdemandoursupport Atthesametime,ournetworksmustbe secure and reliable; they must retain the trust of individuals, businesses and governments, and should be resilient to arbitrary or malicious disruption The world must collectively recognize the challenges posed by malevolent actors’entry into cyberspace, and update and strengthen our national and international policies accordingly Activities undertaken in cyberspace have consequences for our lives in physical space, and we must work towards building the rule of law, to prevent the risks of logging on from outweighing its benefits The future of an open, interoperable, secure and reliable cyberspace depends on nations recognizing and safeguarding that which should endure, while confronting those who would destabilize or undermine our increasingly networked world

US Key

The increasing expansion of cyber crime and state exploitation of the Internet makes US involvement in the governance of the Internet necessaryKnake 10 (Robert, International Affairs Fellow at CFR studying cyber war, Council on Foreign Relations report “Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Security” September 2010)

As a network of networks, the Internet has no central authority to control it.5 New technical standards for the protocols that make the Internet function are developed through an iterative “request for comment” process managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and adopted by the technical community on a consensus basis. Recognizing the need for a centralized authority to assign unique name and number identifiers, the Domain Name System was devel- oped in the early 1980s. The role of allocating IP addresses and man- aging the root zone (the names and IP addresses of the authoritative DNS servers for all top-level domains such as .com) was handled by a single individual, Jon Postel, for almost two decades.6 In 1998, the U.S. Department of Commerce created the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers to oversee the management of this system of unique identifiers. ICANN operates the only centralized system necessary to keep the Internet functioning. ICANN fulfills this important role at minimal cost and is taking measures to address security issues within its man- date. Many Internet pioneers and supporters of Internet freedom main- tain that the assignment of these unique identifiers is the only necessary Internet governance function. Successive U.S. administrations have largely agreed, limiting U.S. government involvement and seeking to keep other governments from attempting to exert authority over the network in order to allow it to grow unencumbered. The rising tide of malware, rampant identity theft, financial crime, terrorist use of the Internet, unprecedented levels of corporate espionage, and the develop- ment of offensive cyber warfare and cyber exploitation capabilities by state actors, however, suggests that stronger and more expansive gov- ernance may be necessary for the Internet to grow and continue to add value to global commerce and enrich the daily lives of billions.

Now is the key time to assert US cyber-leadership if we are to maintain the Internet’s freedomKnake 10 (Robert, International Affairs Fellow at CFR studying cyber war, Council on Foreign Relations report “Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Security” September 2010)

Given the costs of crime, the economic threat of industrial espio- nage, and the increasing militarization of cyberspace, the laissez-faire approach that the United States has taken toward Internet governance over the past decade can no longer be sustained. Though today’s Inter- net is the product of a collaborative effort by the U.S. government, private sector, and academic community, historical bragging rights do not translate into control of the Internet’s future. If the United States fails to provide the leadership necessary to address the security prob- lems, other states will step in. If the current Internet is a reflection of the openness and innovation that are hallmarks of American society, the Internet of the future envisioned by Russia and China would reflect their societies—closed, dysfunctional, state-controlled, and under heavy surveillance.

US Key

United States leadership is necessary to save the InternetKnake 10 (Robert, International Affairs Fellow at CFR studying cyber war, Council on Foreign Relations report “Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Security” September 2010)

The Internet is at a crucial point in its relatively early history. Malicious activity carried out by criminals, spies, and war fighters threaten the economic growth and efficiency that the existence of a single, global interoperable network has brought. If these threats are not addressed constructively through wider U.S. engagement, other countries will step in and may architect a solution that would deprive the Internet of the very characteristics that have made it valuable in the first place.Given these factors, the United States should move beyond its tradi- tional opposition to engagement on issues of Internet governance and lead efforts among like-minded countries to address security concerns in ways that will enhance rather than detract from the Internet as an engine of economic growth. The United States must work to develop new international mechanisms to stop cyberattacks, pursue cyber crim- inals, and rein in state actors engaged in malicious activity. Together with investments to rearchitect the Internet’s underlying protocols to make them more secure, these efforts can preserve and extend the eco- nomic value derived from the Internet.

Internet K2 Economy

Internet security is key to sustain future economic growthKnake 10 (Robert, International Affairs Fellow at CFR studying cyber war, Council on Foreign Relations report “Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Security” September 2010)

The tremendous gains in economic productivity over the past two decades are the direct result of the expanded use of the Internet for communication, collaboration, outsourcing, just-in-time inventory management, and the control of industrial processes. Internationally, the surge in global trade in both goods and services that has taken place could not have happened without the Internet as an enabling technol- ogy. Malicious activity in cyberspace threatens these systems. In the area of corporate espionage alone, many companies are beginning to question the wisdom of using the Internet to allow around-the-clock research and development across time zones due to the loss of intellec- tual property from attacks. As the most wired nation in the world, the United States is also the most vulnerable to disruptive activity in cyberspace, be it threats to the system itself or threats carried on the system against networked targets. 910 Internet Governance in an Age of Cyber Insecurity Despite these vulnerabilities, the Obama administration is moving for- ward with plans that would increase, not decrease, U.S. dependency on networked technologies for the conduct of commerce, the control of critical systems, and the execution of government responsibility. The National Broadband Plan identifies expanded broadband access as the “foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life.”9 The plan identifies six “Goals for a High- Performance America,” in which Internet systems would provide mas- sive new efficiency gains in every economic sector and in the daily lives of each and every American. Goals include a national broadband net- work for first responders to provide interoperable communication during disasters and a Smart Grid that connects individual consumers to the power grid for real-time power usage and rate monitoring. Given the current cyber threat environment, extending U.S. dependence is at best naive and at worst could create a situation in which America’s homeland is vulnerable to both state and nonstate actors that will seek to skip the battlefield and do harm to U.S. society in cyberspace.

The Internet is key to support future innovation and economic growthG8 ‘11 (G8 Declaration given in Deauville, May 27th, 2011 “Renewed Commitment for Internet and Democracy”)

26. Innovation is crucial for growth, prosperity and jobs in the knowledge economy and plays a central role in addressing many of the key global challenges of our times, ranging from climate change, poverty eradication and public health, to demographic changes and recovery from the recent global economic and financial crisis through employment-generation. We acknowledge that the nature, source and speed of innovation and the method and extent to which it drives growth have changed at a greater pace in the past decades than ever in our history. It has moved from closed to open innovation, and its geographical source has broadened. In meeting future global challenges, innovation, green growth and the Internet will all be crucial and their effective development will help support future economic growth. These changes call for focused policy consideration, notably in the private sector, building on previous work by the G8.

Internet K2 Truth

There is nothing else like the Internet that can contribute to the discovery of truth and the advancement of society as a wholeLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

Very few if any developments in information technologies have had such a revolutionary effect as the creation of the Internet. Unlike any other medium of communication, such as radio, television and printed publications based on one-way transmission of information, the Internet represents a significant leap forward as an interactive medium. Indeed, with the advent of Web 2.0 services, or intermediary platforms that facilitate participatory information sharing and collaboration in the creation of content, individuals are no longer passive recipients, but also active publishers of information. Such platforms are particularly valuable in countries where there is no independent media, as they enable individuals to share critical views and to find objective information. Furthermore, producers of traditional media can also use the Internet to greatly expand their audiences at nominal cost. More generally, by enabling individuals to exchange information and ideas instantaneously and inexpensively across national borders, the Internet allows access to information and knowledge that was previously unattainable. This, in turn, contributes to the discovery of the truth and progress of society as a whole.

Internet K2 Rights

Internet access is in itself a right that is key to the realization and promotion of other human rightsLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

21. By explicitly providing that everyone has the right to express him or herself through any media, the Special Rapporteur underscores that article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Covenant was drafted with foresight to include and to accommodate future technological developments through which individuals can exercise their right to freedom of expression. Hence, the framework of international human rights law remains relevant today and equally applicable to new communication technologies such as the Internet. 22. The right to freedom of opinion and expression is as much a fundamental right on its own accord as it is an “enabler” of other rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, such as the right to education and the right to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, as well as civil and political rights, such as the rights to freedom of association and assembly. Thus, by acting as a catalyst for individuals to exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Internet also facilitates the realization of a range of other human rights.

Internet access is considered a human rightKravets 11 (David, “UN Declares Internet Access a Human Right” June 3rd, 2011, quoting the UN report from the Special Rapporteur to the UN on freedom of expression, http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/internet-a-human-right/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wired27b+%28Blog+-+27B+Stroke+6+%28Threat+Level%29%29 )

A United Nations report said Friday that disconnecting people from the internet is a human rights violation and against international law. The report railed against France and the United Kingdom, which have passed laws to remove accused copyright scofflaws from the internet. It also protested blocking internet access to quell political unrest (.pdf). While blocking and filtering measures deny users access to specific content on the Internet, states have also taken measures to cut off access to the Internet entirely. The Special Rapporteur considers cutting off users from internet access, regardless of the justification provided, including on the grounds of violating intellectual property rights law, to be disproportionate and thus a violation of article 19, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The report continues: The Special Rapporteur calls upon all states to ensure that Internet access is maintained at all times, including during times of political unrest. In particular, the Special Rapporteur urges States to repeal or amend existing intellectual copyright laws which permit users to be disconnected from Internet access, and to refrain from adopting such laws.

State Restrictions = Speech Chilling

State criminalization of legitimate expression on the Internet promotes self-censorshipLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

The types of action taken by States to limit the dissemination of content online not only include measures to prevent information from reaching the end-user, but also direct targeting of those who seek, receive and impart politically sensitive information via the Internet. Physically silencing criticism or dissent through arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearance, harassment and intimidation is an old phenomenon, and also applies to Internet users. This issue has been explored in the Special Rapporteur’s report to the General Assembly under the section on “protection of citizen journalists” (A/65/284). Such actions are often aimed not only to silence legitimate expression, but also to intimidate a population to push its members towards self-censorship.

State restrictions on the Internet spill over to chill other forms of freedom of opinion and expressionLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

26. However, in many instances, States restrict, control, manipulate and censor content disseminated via the Internet without any legal basis, or on the basis of broad and ambiguous laws, without justifying the purpose of such actions; and/or in a manner that is clearly unnecessary and/or disproportionate to achieving the intended aim, as explored in the following sections. Such actions are clearly incompatible with States’ obligations under international human rights law, and often create a broader “chilling effect” on the right to freedom of opinion and expression.

Internet Restriction = Torture

Internet restrictions incite arbitrary detention and tortureLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

28. As outlined under Chapter III, any restriction to the right to freedom of expression must meet the strict criteria under international human rights law. A restriction on the right of individuals to express themselves through the Internet can take various forms, from technical measures to prevent access to certain content, such as blocking and filtering, to inadequate guarantees of the right to privacy and protection of personal data, which inhibit the dissemination of opinions and information. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that the arbitrary use of criminal law to sanction legitimate expression constitutes one of the gravest forms of restriction to the right, as it not only creates a “chilling effect”, but also leads to other human rights violations, such as arbitrary detention and torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Internet Blocking = Child Trafficking

Excessive reliance on Internet filters creates a disincentive to actually prosecute and eliminate child-pornographers, allowing the root of the problem to remain La Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

32. The Special Rapporteur notes that child pornography is one clear exception where blocking measures can be justified, provided that the national law is sufficiently precise and there are effective safeguards against abuse or misuse, including oversight and review by an independent and impartial tribunal or regulatory body. However, he is also concerned that States frequently rely heavily on blocking measures, rather than focusing their efforts on prosecuting those responsible for the production and dissemination of child pornography. Additionally, as child pornography is often a by-product of trafficking and prostitution of children, the Special Rapporteur urges States to take holistic measures to combat the root problems that give rise to child pornography.

Internet Solves Inequality

Concrete policies to protect the Internet are critical to prevent a widening digital divide that furthers social and economic inequalityLa Rue 11 (Frank, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression for the UN, May 16th, 2011)

60. The Internet, as a medium by which the right to freedom of expression can be exercised, can only serve its purpose if States assume their commitment to develop effective policies to attain universal access to the Internet. Without concrete policies and plans of action, the Internet will become a technological tool that is accessible only to a certain elite while perpetrating the “digital divide”. 61. The term “digital divide” refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technologies, in particular the Internet, and those with very limited or no access at all. In contrast to 71.6 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in developed States, there are only 21.1 Internet users per 100 inhabitants in developing States.41

This disparity is starker in the African region, with only 9.6 users per 100 inhabitants.42 In addition, digital divides also exist along wealth, gender, geographical and social lines within States. Indeed, with wealth being one of the significant factors in determining who can access information communication technologies, Internet access is likely to be concentrated among socio- economic elites, particularly in countries where Internet penetration is low. In addition, people in rural areas are often confronted with obstacles to Internet access, such as lack of technological availability, slower Internet connection, and/or higher costs. Furthermore, even where Internet connection is available, disadvantaged groups, such as persons with disabilities and persons belonging to minority groups, often face barriers to accessing the Internet in a way that is meaningful, relevant and useful to them in their daily lives. 62. The Special Rapporteur is thus concerned that without Internet access, which facilitates economic development and the enjoyment of a range of human rights, marginalized groups and developing States remain trapped in a disadvantaged situation, thereby perpetuating inequality both within and between States. As he has noted previously, to combat situations of inequality it is critical to ensure that marginalized or disadvantaged sections of society can express their grievances effectively and that their voices are heard. 43 The Internet offers a key means by which such groups can obtain information, assert their rights, and participate in public debates concerning social, economic and political changes to improve their situation. Moreover, the Internet is an important educational tool, as it provides access to a vast and expanding source of knowledge, supplements or transforms traditional forms of schooling, and makes, through “open access” initiatives, previously unaffordable scholarly research available to people in developing States. Additionally, the educational benefits attained from Internet usage directly contribute to the human capital of States

Civic Engagement = Democracy

Civic engagement is the bedrock of democracyKhamis and Vaughn 11 (Dr Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn , “Cyberactivism in the Egyptian Revolution: How Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism Tilted the Balance” Issue 13 of Arab Media and Society, Summer 2011)

The term civic engagement refers to the process through which civil society is invited to participate in ongoing political, economic and social efforts that are meant to bring about change. According to the Coalition for Civic Engagement and Leadership at the University of Maryland: Civic engagement is acting upon a heightened sense of responsibility to one’s communities. This includes a wide range ofactivities, including developing civic sensitivity, participation in building civil society, and benefiting the common good. Civic engagement encompasses the notions of global citizenship and interdependence. Through civic engagement, individuals - as citizens of their communities, their nations, and the world - are empowered as agents of positive social change for a more democratic world. A better understanding of the term civic engagement requires a deeper comprehension of a closely intertwined term, namely: civil society. Edwards (2004) defined civil society as “a reservoir of caring, cultural life and intellectual innovation, teaching people...the skills of citizenship and nurturing a collection of positive social norms that foster stability, loosely connected under the rubric of ‘social capital’” (p. 14). According to Diamond (1999): civil society is the realm of organized social life that is open, voluntary, self-generating, at least partially self-supporting, autonomous from the state, and bound by a legal order or set of shared rules. It is distinct from ‘society’ in general in that it involves citizens acting collectively in a public sphere to express their interests, passions, preferences, and ideas...to hold state officials accountable (p. 221). Most importantly, “According to much contemporary democratic theory, civil society forms the bedrock of good democratic governance – and this sentiment is echoed in more popular political discourse” (Browers, 2006, p. 5). Therefore, “The most noticeable change has been a distinct shift of focus in discussions of democratization from the state to society – that is, from theories that view the state as the locus of political change to theories that see the impetus for change as arising in a non-governmental realm.” (Browers, p. 19).

Citizen Journalism = Democracy

Citizen journalism develops an informed citizenry and increases democracyKhamis and Vaughn 11 (Dr Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn , “Cyberactivism in the Egyptian Revolution: How Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism Tilted the Balance” Issue 13 of Arab Media and Society, Summer 2011)

An equally significant concept worth defining is citizen journalism, which provides ordinary citizens the opportunity to document their own version of reality and tell their own side of the story. It is distinguished from professional journalism in that ordinary citizens use digital media tools to report on events on the ground, uploading text and videos directly to the Internet or feeding the information and videos to media outlets. Therefore we can contend that citizen journalism “is a promising new breed of news-making that has been championed by various scholars...[for] granting ordinary citizens a novel, hands-on role” (Reich, 2008, p. 739). Citizen journalism “gives people a voice and therefore power. The people’s participation itself and what they produce are regarded with the hope to contribute to an informed citizenry and democracy” (Nip, 2006, p. 212). Citizen journalism assumes that “average citizens are capable of intelligent judgment, mature understanding, and rational choice if offered the opportunity; in other words, that democracy as ‘self-government’ is not a dream but a practical premise” (Rosen, 1994, p. 18).

Internet = Women’s Empowerment

The Internet enhances women’s rights in developing democraciesKhamis and Vaughn 11 (Dr Sahar Khamis and Katherine Vaughn , “Cyberactivism in the Egyptian Revolution: How Civic Engagement and Citizen Journalism Tilted the Balance” Issue 13 of Arab Media and Society, Summer 2011)

Social media’s horizontal and non-hierarchical structure was empowering for women, who not only engaged in online activism and citizen journalism through social media, but also effectively and courageously participated in demonstrations and protests. At the peak of the protests in Egypt, for example, roughly one quarter of the million protesters who poured into Tahrir Square each day were women and “Veiled and unveiled women shouted, fought and slept in the streets alongside men, upending traditional expectations of their behavior” (Otterman, 2011). Even after the revolution, Egyptian women are mobilizing to ensure a “gender inclusive democracy” that provides them with full social and political rights, including the right to run for presidential elections, and are insisting on constitutional reforms that safeguard these rights, amid concerns by women activists that the post-revolution committee revising the constitution is all male (Krajeski, 2011). Since the overthrow of Mubarak, social media has served as a platform for civic engagement, especially for women. Activist Bothaina Kamel, a former television anchor, used Twitter to announce her plans to run for president. Reactions from Twitter users to the announcement were mixed, with some supporting her candidacy (Amr, 2011a). Egyptian blogger and activist Dalia Ziada, who is the North Africa bureau director for the AIC (American Islamic Congress), says that social media “will be vital in building a democracy that respects the rights of women and minorities” and she feels it will “provide a virtual forum that will lead to more tolerance andexchanges of ideas” (Bortot, 2011). Ziada, who, soon after Mubarak left office, organized Egypt- wide debates on “the role of cyber and traditional media in the democratic process and the question of a civil versus a religious state,” said, “When you debate with someone online, they never care who you are, they never care if you are a man or a woman, they never care if you are from an upper-class family or a poor family. ... They just care about your point of view and really focus on what you say. It is mind-to-mind talking.” (Bortot, 2011)

Internet K2 Everything

The Internet is literally the foundation for all modern conventionsISFC 11 (International Strategy for Cyberspace, as released by the White House in May of 2011)

Digital infrastructure is increasingly the backbone of prosperous economies, vigorous research com- munities, strong militaries, transparent governments, and free societies As never before, information technology is fostering transnational dialogue and facilitating the global flow of goods and services These social and trade links have become indispensable to our daily lives Critical life-sustaining infrastructures that deliver electricity and water, control air traffic, and support our financial system all depend on networked information systems Governments are now able to streamline the provision of essential services through eGovernment initiatives Social and political movements rely on the Internet to enable new and more expansive forms of organization and action The reach of networked technol- ogy is pervasive and global For all nations, the underlying digital infrastructure is or will soon become a national asset

The Internet really does benefit everybody…ISFC 11 (International Strategy for Cyberspace, as released by the White House in May of 2011)

These benefits have been diverse and profound For individuals, computer networks have enhanced productivity and prosperity; helped to overcome disadvantage and disability; brought together those isolated by language or a rare disease; connected families and friends across distant and often-fraught borders Forcommunities,theyhavespedfirstresponsetoemergencies,expandedinformation-sharing to help solve crimes, shed light on corruption, facilitated political action, and brought wide attention to overlooked causes For businesses, they have opened new markets and spawned billion-dollar industries For governments, they have enabled increased transparency, efficiency, and convenience, and have connected leaders to those they serve For the international community, they have provided the foundation for a new global marketplace of ideas, and helped channel remarkable generosity in the face of tragedy The more freely information flows, the stronger our societies become Properly used, these technologies can strengthen us all, and we will work to expand their reach and improve their operation at home and abroad.

Internet Restrictions = Cyber-threats

Unjustified and suppressive Internet policies only mask reform crushing effective security measures alongside Internet opennessISFC 11 (International Strategy for Cyberspace, as released by the White House in May of 2011)

Free Flow of Information States do not, and should not have to choose between the free flow of infor- mation and the security of their networks The best cybersecurity solutions are dynamic and adaptable, with minimal impact on network performance These tools secure systems without crippling innovation, suppressingfreedomofexpressionorassociation,orimpedingglobalinteroperability Incontrast,wesee other approaches—such as national-level filters and firewalls—as providing only an illusion of security while hampering the effectiveness and growth of the Internet as an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable medium of exchange The same is true commercially; cyberspace must remain a level playing field that rewards innovation, entrepreneurship, and industriousness, not a venue where states arbi- trarily disrupt the free flow of information to create unfair advantage The United States is committed to international initiatives and standards that enhance cybersecurity while safeguarding free trade and the broader free flow of information, recognizing our global responsibilities, as well as our national needs.