Reader Response Draft 3

In the article "Who's the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US?", Morozov(2015) implies that the United States are the true enemy of internet freedom instead of the less liberal Russia and China. The author states that the difference between US and the rest, is that US wants to access the database of the users that were using products developed by US companies; while China and Russia only request for access to the database of their own citizens. Morozov uses the recent debate between Microsoft and the US government as a stepping stone to his argument; where the US government demands Microsoft to grant them access to their database in Ireland.

The article is seemingly bias against the US. The author's claim that the US is the true enemy of internet freedom is an ignorant judgment because the argument is only base on just one case study pertaining to the matter. The case study actually in fact, justifies why US is not the true enemy of internet freedom.

It is widely agreed upon that US is liberal in terms of freedom of speech and censorship. While it is true that US had request the database of the personnel using software developed by them, the US only did what they did because they need the data to aid them with ongoing investigations. Another difference between US, China and Russia is that the US did not actually hold the data of the people. This is further proven to be true from the case study where the US had to request the data from Microsoft which ultimately led to the author's argument. On the other hand, China and Russia could access to the database of their citizens at any given point in time.

Webpages such as Facebook and Google are also part of the restrictions in China and Russia. I believe that these acts of restrictions are the true terror of internet freedom. Although the definition of internet freedom may vary, I personally feel that internet freedom means having the option and liberty to choose what one can browse and say on the internet. China and Russia fail to do just that. The case study on the US is not relevant to the topic as suggested by the author base on my definition

Other than banning popular sites, China and Russia also practice heavy censorship on the content that one could discuss or comment about, on forums or other web pages. China also did a lot of coverups in the past on the internet regarding the more sensitive issues, such as political corruptions. The US is more liberal in this aspect. To end off the review on the article, what Morozov pointed out in this article is not exactly invalid. Truth remains that all three countries that are being discussed somewhat fits the criteria of being terrors of internet freedom. China and Russia simply fare worst than the US. However, what the US did can be classified as an act of tyranny instead of terrorizing internet freedom. It is after all, wrong of them to demand the information of a client from Microsoft just because Microsoft "belongs" to them. So who is to say now that in the future the US will not overtake China and Russia in the race of internet terrorism?

Morozov, E. (2015, January 4). Who’s the true enemy of internet freedom - China, Russia, or the US? theguardian. Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/04/internet-freedom-china-russia-us-google-microsoft-digital-sovereignty