INTERNET FREEDOM A MUST FOR HUMANITY
The recent arrest of an environmental activist of Bangalore, Disha Ravi, for her some edits of Greta Thunberg’s ‘tool kit’ on the current farmers agitation in North India all over the world, has once again brought to focus the utmost need for almost absolute non-interference by States plus solid assurances/ arrangements by nations to ensure the freedom for speech and expression on the internet. It is doubtless that some American corporate companies are the actual managers of the entire internet and we have seen how corporate social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. have misused their powers, and blocked the accounts of even the U.S. President Trump when he was in and now even after he is out of office. They have developed into dangerous censors undermining the freedom of speech on the net. In India we often see this or that person being arrested for trivial ‘offences’ relating to speech and expression on the internet and even charged with ‘sedition’. In the B.J.P. ruled States this revolting phenomenon is quite frequent though those run by others also no less prone to this dictatorial mentality. We may note that with the great developments in telecommunications and related technologies, entire world has become much smaller – like a global village – with more facilities for people of various nationalities, races, communities etc. to interact easily as also feel the pleasures and pains of the others and respond to those too. As such now onwards general human concerns would result in worldwide protests; the nation state itself may soon become redundant – though, of course, the ruling cliques everywhere would not let it vanish that easily. Then, we found nothing objectionable in the tool kit for which Disha Ravi was arrested; naturally, people post/share many links in their posts on the net to enable others follow their thoughts and programs. Moreover, internet speech is also a sort of blurting out of the subconscious feelings and conduct of the persons and so utmost privacy should be assured to the netizens, not such savage repression. Ultimately any reputed international organization, with the consent of many/most of the nations, may have to take charge and ensure that Internet is shifted to a headquarters outside America and, preferably, located in Geneva or Stockholm etc. to be managed under the UN auspices, with other useful changes in its conduct, but, firstly, our people must seriously protest and agitate against such repressive policies and measures of the corporates/ governments undermining the basic freedoms of the netizens. §§§
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