Class #13 - The Shutdown Button
It’s a little scary to consider the existence of an internet shutdown button!
Last class we were discussing the context of social media in the political realm, and the subject of revolutionary movements and protests inevitably came up. We at some point got onto the thought of governments (worst case scenario, corrupt ones) using mass shutdown protocols to turn the tides of a social media empowered revolution or coup in their favor. The ability for a mass governing body to completely sever what has become an entire form of communication is a horrific one.
Really, this isn’t such a new concept-- it isn’t as though governments haven’t been able to do this before. Realistically, it would likely be a simple matter for one to disable phone lines across an entire country, if not a large portion of one.
But social media and net communication are inherently more constant, more consistently intertwined with our daily existences than phone communication, or even early elements of cyber communication. Social media platforms allow for consistent, almost unending connectivity between individuals and the larger net consciousness.
We’ve entered into an age in which this is the norm. At any and all times, we are constantly sharing and receiving data and information, passively and actively, from all across the world. During revolutionary or turbulent periods of mass protest and reform, these platforms keep a divided people connected and coherent.
The thought of a governing force being capable of shutting such a beast of continuous communication down is frightening indeed. I certainly hope that as time goes on, we hear less and less of these shutdown procedures. But I fear that, as world governments continue to learn more and more of the power social media affords, that they will only grow to become further capable of manipulating said benefits