With the internet we are facing more or less a very similar story. It does offer virtually limitless access to entertainment and for many people living in extremely depressing conditions in authoritarian states, it does provide a vehicle for getting by. For many oppositional movements, the internet, while providing the opportunity to distribute information more quickly and cheaper, may have actually made their struggle more difficult in the long run.
Evgeny MorozovFree open-source software, by its nature, is unlikely to feature secret back doors that lead directly to Langley, Va.
Evgeny MorozovSimply getting a country's population online is not going to trigger a revolution in critical thinking.
Evgeny MorozovIt's true that virtually all new technologies do trigger what sociologists would call 'moral panics,' that there are a lot of people who are concerned with the possible political and social consequences, and that this has been true throughout the ages.
Evgeny Morozov