The real cyber war : the political economy of Internet freedom PDF
Preview The real cyber war : the political economy of Internet freedom
The Real CybeR WaR The Political Economy Shawn M. Powers & of Internet Freedom Michael Jablonski The Real Cyber War the history of communication Robert W. McChesney and John C. Nerone, editors A list of books in the series appears at the end of this book. The Real Cyber War The Political Economy of Internet Freedom Shawn M. PowerS and Michael JablonSki UnIvERsITy oF IllInoIs PREss Urbana, Chicago, and springfield © 2015 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1 ∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Powers, Shawn M., 1981– The real cyber war : the political economy of Internet freedom / Shawn M. Powers and Michael Jablonski. pages cm. — (History of communication) Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-252-03912-6 (hardback) — isbn 978-0-252-08070-8 (paperback) — isbn 978-0-252-09710-2 (e-book) 1. Internet—Political aspects. 2. Internet and international relations. 3. Internet governance. 4. Internet—Government policy—United States. I. Jablonski, Michael. II. Title. hm851.p6878 2015 303.48'33—dc23 2014036202 Contents Preface vii List of Abbreviations and Acronyms xi Introduction: Geopolitics and the Internet 1 1 Information Freedom and U.S. Foreign Policy: A History 27 2 The Information-Industrial Complex 50 3 Google, Information, and Power 74 4 The Economics of Internet Connectivity 99 5 The Myth of Multistakeholder Governance 129 6 Toward Information Sovereignty 155 7 Internet Freedom in a Surveillance Society 180 Conclusion 203 Notes 209 Index 261 Preface The genesis of The Real Cyber War was a series of discussions we had trying to make sense of developments in global communications since the end of the Cold War. The evolution of a global communication order resulted in a system characterized not only by shifting relationships between states but by the emergence of other actors wielding sufficient power to change the conversation. More than anything, we came to believe, the evolving system would be dynamic rather than static. Using Dan Schiller’s description of information as both a commodity and a resource as an initial hypothesis,1 we began to investigate the political economy of the emerging global power struggle for control of information as a valuable resource. This investigation included: twelve Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests resulting in our acquisition of more than three thousand official documents from the Department of Commerce, Department of State, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, and the National Security Agency; archival work conducted at UNESCO in Paris, France, and at the ITU in Geneva, Switzerland; and sixty-two in-person interviews with practitioners, industry experts, and civil-society leaders from Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Ukraine. Over the course of the research process we consistently found signifi- cant political assumptions being embedded within the regulatory schemes derived from ideas like “information freedom,” “free flow of information,” viii . preface “sovereignty,” and “multistakeholderism.” These terms, and others, disguise endeavors to control resources by stripping away their underlying political and economic values. Each embodies a particular myth perpetuated to cloak the strategies employed to effect a disproportionate division of resources. The political economy approach employed in The Real Cyber War situates the power struggle over information as a resource in history, in practice, and in geopolitics. Our main intent in writing the book has been to engage scholars and prac- titioners in communication, economics, law, political science, public policy, and international relations. We believe that it can be useful, and accessible, to technologists interested in understanding the forces that constrain what they can do within the emerging information regime or regimes. The book offers scholars in science and technology studies context for the study of the interrelationship between information technology and social, political, and cultural values inherent in governance. It also speaks directly to policymak- ers and internet activists operating in the spheres of internet governance and human rights online. Just as information technologies foster dynamic realignment of power relations in a given society, we hope that The Real Cyber War creates porosity in boundaries separating disciplines to further a sustained and academically diverse conversation about the intersections of technology, science, and geopolitics. Successful collaborations always necessitate a division of labor. Shawn Powers conducted the interviews, performed the archival work, and reviewed the FOIA documents that formed much of the primary research drawn upon herein. He was also primarily responsible for the introduction and chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and the conclusion. Michael Jablonski led the effort to track the history of American information policy, was primarily responsible for chap- ter 1, and provided research assistance for the introduction. Chapter 6 was co-produced by both authors. This book came together with the help of many colleagues and friends. Monroe Price, whose thinking has continuously pushed our work in the area of global media, inspired its focus. Amelia Arsenault played an invalu- able role in refining many of the book’s core arguments and in improving the clarity of the text. Richard Hill offered insightful suggestions and ques- tions that helped improve the book from start to finish. Research was made possible due to generous support from Georgia State University and in par- ticular from David Cheshier, Carol Winkler, and James A. Weyhenmeyer. Central European University’s Institute for Advanced Study and Center for Media, Data, and Society offered crucial space and support to finalize this preface · ix project, for which we are incredibly grateful. Jason Jarvis, Jillian Martin, Ryan Mixon, and Kyle Wrather each provided helpful research assistance at various points throughout the project. John Krige, Ellen Witte Zegura, and Mike Best provided guidance on understanding various technologies. Emily Kofoed’s diligent attention to detail was extraordinarily helpful in finalizing the text and index. Last but not least, Tom Corcoran, Betty Hanson, Sarah Meyers, Vincent Mosco, Ben O’Loughlin, Dan Schiller, Ben Wagner, and Janet Wasko provided valuable feedback about earlier drafts of the manuscript. We are extraordinarily grateful to each of them for their interest in and support of this project.
The list of books you might like
