Russia Blocked from Internet... Will Borders Appear on the www? [Im Juhyung's Tech Talk]

The Internet That United Citizens Worldwide
Now Faces 'Borders' Through Information Censorship
Russia Faces 'Digital Isolation' Due to Western Sanctions
China, North Korea Attempt 'Internet Censorship'
Human Rights Groups Warn "Online Censorship Violates Real-World Rights"

Today, most people around the world can access the internet through smartphones and other devices. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "We are creating a world where anyone can enter without privileges and prejudices based on race, economic power, military strength, or place of birth."

This is a statement made by American philosopher John Perry Barlow, who devoted his life to the 'free internet' movement, in the 'Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace' on February 8, 1996. After the invention of the World Wide Web (www) and the spread of the internet worldwide, many people believed that 'netizens' connected through cyberspace would create a global village transcending borders.

However, more than 20 years after the Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace was made public, borders are gradually being erected on the internet. Some authoritarian countries have introduced extensive surveillance and censorship technologies to control their citizens, and global internet services have been blocked due to conflicts between countries. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, it may become impossible to freely meet people from other countries through the internet.

◆Russia Sanctioned on the Internet... Facebook and Twitter Also Cut Off

On the 24th of last month (local time), after the Russian military launched a large-scale invasion of Ukraine, Western countries responded by imposing economic sanctions on Russia. Accordingly, the United States and Europe have reduced imports of Russian gas and oil, seized luxury homes and yachts belonging to the emerging oligarch class closely connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and frozen assets hidden overseas by Russian banks.

However, these economic sanctions were not limited to physical industries. Western countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on the 'internet.' Big tech companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Twitter, and Netflix, which had entered Russia, suspended internet services and banned advertising.

Russia retaliated. It blocked the business of overseas social networking service (SNS) companies in the Russian region. On the 5th, the Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media announced it would block access to Twitter and Facebook accounts of Russians. The reason was that these SNS services showed discriminatory behavior toward Russian state media and failed to delete harmful content such as child pornography and drugs.

Ukrainians residing in Korea are marching toward Namdaemun after concluding the "Rally Urging Russia to Stop the Invasion of Ukraine" held near the Russian Embassy in Seoul on the morning of the 6th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Western countries are also blocking information originating from Russia. On the 2nd, the European Union (EU) announced a ban on the operation of Russian state media 'Russia Today' and 'Sputnik News' in the European region. At that time, the EU Commission explained, "This is a sanction adopted against the Russian government's disinformation and information manipulation."

◆Will the Internet That United the World Become Divided by Barriers?

Within about a week, millions of Russian accounts that used Western SNS content and news services disappeared. Also, in Western countries such as the United States and Europe, Russian news that was commonly accessible is no longer available. In effect, a virtual barrier has been erected in the middle of the internet.

This incident is the exact opposite of the future envisioned by free internet thinkers after the invention of the 'www' in 1989. A system was established to easily search the countless web pages on the internet through www, and as high-speed communication spread beyond governments and research institutes to ordinary people, the scope of the internet expanded exponentially.

The birth of SNS united netizens from hundreds of countries worldwide into a single group. People could exchange information with each other in seconds anytime and anywhere. Inspired by this expansion of the internet, free internet thinkers like John Perry Barlow dreamed of a 'borderless virtual world' and announced the 'Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace.'

American philosopher John Perry Barlow, who proclaimed the Cyberspace Independence Declaration / Photo by Wikipedia capture

Ironically, the reason barriers have been erected on the internet seems to lie in the internet's greatest characteristic and advantage: 'scalability' itself. Because any information can be shared across borders, authoritarian governments that want to control information are tempted to block the internet.

Major foreign media such as The New York Times (NYT) have expressed concern that Russia's current isolation from the global internet could actually benefit President Putin. On the 7th, the NYT pointed out, "Due to the Ukraine crisis, global companies and Russian authorities have installed a 'digital barricade' between the West and Russia, causing even the last remaining independent online information space in Russia to disappear."

Until now, Russia's internet space could import some uncensored and undistorted information thanks to its connection with overseas, but now even that has become impossible. In the future, Russian citizens who cannot access independent external information will have to watch only government-approved news, enabling President Putin to achieve even more perfect social control.

◆Authoritarian Countries Attempt Internet Censorship

This is not the first time authoritarian countries have attempted 'digital isolationism.'

In China's case, since 1998, it has implemented a domestic information censorship policy called the 'Golden Shield Project.' The Golden Shield refers to an internet censorship system that blocks websites and content deemed inappropriate from the perspective of the Chinese Communist Party among those posted on the Chinese-language internet.

China controls the Chinese-language internet through an internet censorship system called the "Golden Shield." / Photo by Yonhap News

Since the internet began to spread internationally in earnest in the early 1990s, China has been implementing digital censorship systems since the internet's infancy.

North Korea also attempts social control through internet censorship. North Korea's internet control is known to be much more severe than China's Golden Shield. According to the 'World Internet Control Map' report released in 2020 by the British information and communication specialist company Comparitech, North Korea was identified as the country with the strongest censorship among 181 countries surveyed.

The report evaluates each country's internet censorship level based on five categories: ▲file sharing restrictions ▲political media control ▲SNS usage restrictions ▲virtual private network restrictions ▲adult content bans. North Korea received the lowest score in all five categories and was ranked as the worst internet censorship country.

Iran, which is under international sanctions for pursuing nuclear weapons development, is also one of the countries with severe internet censorship of its citizens. According to U.S. media such as CNET and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Iran's internet is practically close to an 'intranet' (a private network accessible only to specific group members), and to access the internet, one must submit personal information such as their own and their father's name, address, and phone number, so anonymity is not guaranteed.

Activists express concern that attempts to create borders on the internet strengthen government control and may even infringe on citizens' human rights.

The international human rights organization Human Rights Watch explained, "A law that hands over all control of online communication networks to government agencies effectively isolates a country from the www," adding, "If such a thing actually happens, the state will be able to directly block information it does not want its citizens to see."

They further warned, "Such measures will suppress freedom of expression not only online but also in the physical world," and "Social discourses that governments consider 'divisive,' such as LGBTQ rights, political freedom, or debates about infectious disease situations like COVID-19, will no longer be possible."