[kictanet] Syria shuts down Internet? How can we stop this from happening again?-application to Kenya?

[Song, Stephen]

On 3 December 2012 16:11, McTim <dogwallah at gmail.com> wrote:

> Kivuva,
>
> On Mon, Dec 3, 2012 at 2:30 PM, Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com>
> wrote:
> > That is a very detailed and philosophical approach by Walu.
> >
> > Speaking for the mwananchi at the grassroots, if switching of the
> > Internet and broadcast media can foster unity by preventing
> > transmission of hate and unhealthy debates, then they should be
> > switched off
>
> Perhaps you should ask the mwananchi how they feel about having their
> right to communicate taken away from them in the name of "security".
>
> As Benjamin Franklin once said:  “They that can give up essential
> liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty
> nor safety.”
>

On the one hand I agree with that quotation with all my heart, yet at the
same I think it is true that if someone had managed to shut down the radio
transmitters in 1994 in Rwanda millions of lives might have been saved.
 The Internet is an extremely powerful tool and as more and more people
have affordable access to it, it becomes even more so.  Ben Franklin's good
friend Voltaire said "Avec le grand pouvoir vient le grand devoir" (With
great power comes great responsibility).  Figuring this out is going to be
a long and complex discussion and I think it is unlikely that absolutes are
the answer.  To me it feels like we need some kind of damping mechanisms
for the Internet that slow down a technological decision whether it be
censorship or otherwise so that humans can catch up with the implications,
so that they can be dealt with in a process, democratic, negotiated, or
otherwise.  It does feel like technology has run ahead of nation states and
that more than anything we need more effective social and political systems
that can cope with our multiple allegiances and identities these days.

-Steve


> --
> Cheers,
>
> McTim
> "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A
> route indicates how we get there."  Jon Postel
>
> _______________________________________________
> kictanet mailing list
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
>
> Unsubscribe or change your options at
> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/stephen.song%40gmail.com
>
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>



-- 
Steve Song
+1 902 529 0046
+27 83 482 2088 (SMS only)
http://manypossibilities.net
http://villagetelco.org
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/pipermail/kictanet/attachments/20121204/ff3d1453/attachment.htm>