How to Shut Down the 'Net: A Guide for Repressive Regimes

How to Shut Down the 'Net: A Guide for Repressive Regimes

www.foxnews.com

Facing student protests ahead of today's National Students Day — the anniversary of three student deaths in Tehran in 1953 — the state-owned Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) slowed or blocked completely access to the Internet for most of the state

(visit the link for the full news article)

I am surprised this has not been talked about yet. This is big time huge! They claim that shutting down the internet is actually very easy and can be done quickly.

America watch and learn, I see a day when the internet is restricted or destroyed completely. Be thankful for the freedom you have now.

www.foxnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

If any of this doom and gloom caca actually happens one would think that shutting down the internet would be almost mandatory (cutting communication)

on second thought it would be a great way to collect intel on web users as well

I'm on the fence on this one! But leading towards the former

they for sure censor some stuff I come across it all the time (this video not available in your region etc)

[edit on 7-12-2009 by '___'omino]

The Internet may be a worldwide superhighway, but it's all to easy to shut it down. Governments aiming to squelch free speech in don't even have to work hard to do so: It's all too easy to restrict the Internet and keep their people in the dark.

The practice is all too too easy, and all too common.

First, the government talks to the major Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that control the flow of data in and out of the country. Not every country has the wide array of ISPs we have in the United States. In many countries, people get online through a limited selection that are authorized to work in the country.

Things are coming for us as fast as a freight train and there is no stopping it. I truly believe we are beyond the point of no return.

reply to post by '___'omino


I was on the fence too but clearly there is a test of power going on here.

The purpose of shutting it down was to restrict or completely take away the freedom of press. People were sending pictures through the internet to the AP for news, the government wanted that stopped.

The easiest way to shut down the net is to limit bandwidth. If the ISP's don't comply a few well placed explosive devices would knock severely limit access, but at the same time it wouldn't take long to have massive wan hooked up. And if things do get that bad remember there is one difference between the Iran protesters and the US, the people in the US have lots of guns.

This is one area where I tend to be more optimistic about The People and their ingenuity.

If the government was to completely shut down "the internets" as we know it, then lots of computer savvy network know-how people will set up mini networks. These could easily be connected to other mini networks and so on. I wouldn't be surprised if I found out it was already happening on any sort of scale.

In fact, I've already convinced myself that some in that neat internet group Anonymous already have bunches of these little networks they work on.

The same technology that the ISPs use can be done on a smaller scale in a neighborhood, rural areas, across a city, anywhere. It's just a matter of setting up the infrastructure. That and protecting it against sabotage by the government that had the interweb 1.0 shut down...

Edit:

I spoke a bit too soon... lol looks like it's already been done. Like I said, not surprised in the least.

Darknets

[edit on 8-12-2009 by Shaker]

I would have to say that the internet is the greatest achievement of mankind. It's use as a tool for oppression and control is more limited than it's potential as a tool for liberation and peace. There would always be a hacker out there that can break free of any kind of attempt to control the internet, and they can free others which sounds very "Matrix"-like but can happen, and is happening on many different levels. The internet has the potential to unite the world in a global revolution, so I think any system of control and oppression should be afraid.