If a Martian was currently observing Western countries from afar, he or she (or whatever gender applies) would wryly surmise that we are far more comfortable with bemoaning the tyranny of foreign regimes than we are with protesting against our own governors. Many advocates of citizen journalism and anti-censorship activists (usually cut from the same cloth) have endlessly pointed to such countries as China, Burma, Iran and Cuba as perennial bugbears of online freedom of information and privacy.
Yet a worrying trend is gathering lightning-speed momentum. Democratically elected governments, from London to Canberra, are voting to enact laws which explicitly tell the polity they are a threat when they use the internet. This transition appears to have gone largely unnoticed by these citizens, to this writer at least. This is somewhat understandable. For quite a few years, we had it good. We had some semblance, or appearance, of relative online freedom. Then, much like a typically warm Australian summer’s day, the sky got dark very quickly and is now threatening to open up.
Freedom of information and communication on the internet is not, by definition, restricted to what you can and cannot access – it is also very much about what information can be accessed about you. As measures to access and retain web browser history are becoming (or have become) law in Europe, Australia and the United States, you may wish reconsider that politically incendiary or personally revealing blog post right now – for you may no longer be as anonymous online as you thought you were.
However, the true scope of such a scenario broadens to ever more disturbing horizons when these proposed data retention laws are examined under a spotlight. In his November 1 post on Zdnet, Australian journalist Stilgherrian has helpfully constructed a podcast with excerpts from a recent Senate inquiry explaining what these new laws will mean for all Australian internet users. It is recommended reading and listening for all who spend even minimal amounts of time online. It is also terrifying.
The effects of the erosion of privacy are ultimately psychological - if you know that your every online search, email, blog post, social network status update and photos are being logged, the resulting behavior is inevitable – you will start self-censoring yourself.