Repression 2.0

Totalitarian states are learning to control citizens by creating the impression of ubiquitous surveillance. Newsweek reports.

In the latest twist on Internet repression, governments don't just censor, they scare.

Last week, for example, the Chinese government broadcast a text message to cell-phone users in Lhasa, Tibet, where Beijing has cracked down on protests in recent weeks. The message demanded that users "obey the law" and "follow the rules," and no protester could have mistaken the meaning, or the messenger. If the government also managed to terrify even quiet, apolitical citizens, Chinese and Tibetan—well, so be it. Repression 2.0 is not a precise technology.

emily | 3:22 PM | SMS and Politics |
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2008/04/019691.htm