Internet Freedom Wanes as Governments Target Messaging, Social Apps
How did the Snowden Disclosures get completely dismissed by this report? US intelligence has been backdooring social and messaging apps for mass surveillance and propaganda (e.g. Zunzuneo) for decades.<p>Internet freedom was only a short, small blip of possibility. It died decades ago when control was consolidated into regulated corporations, its companies were infiltrated by intelligence personnel, and when modern communications became a specific military target (with UK and US leading the charge).<p>This story doesn't offer solutions (I get that it's not trying to). Rather, it repudiates specific countries for specific decisions while giving others a free pass for their own unsavory behavior.<p>It's cute that their map shows the former Soviet Union as "not free" and the former American Cold War strategic assets as "free" - but this cute glib approach to assessment is backed by a severe lack of security analysis and a severe lack of reasonable acknowledgement of basic facts.<p>Here's an approach: encourage technology whose transparency and control is centered in individuals & cede top-down influence over the networks of those individuals and their technology as much as is technically possible.<p>Don't like that solution? Well, you're in for a ride called "waning internet freedom". Color the map however you want. But appropriating the free software movement into some military geopolitical nonsense loses you credibility.