1 Beyond Denial
Introducing Next-Generation Information Access Controls
Ronald Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski
Introduction
It is hard to imagine the world before the Internet. A generation of digital natives has
grown up with ubiquitous connectivity, where neither borders nor language seems a
barrier to communication. 1 And yet, less than 20 years ago the global information environment was a much more controlled and regulated space, organized around sovereign states. Throughout much of modern history, governments have wrestled with the
tensions of the relentless drive to build new technologies and the unpredictable and
often counterproductive consequences that flow from them for their power and authority. 2 No less of a historical figure than Stalin captured this tension between the
quest for modernity and the compulsion to control. When presented with a proposal
to build a modern telephone system for the new Soviet state, he reportedly replied, ‘‘I
can imagine no greater instrument of counterrevolution in our time.’’
The rise of the Internet coincided with a major set of political upheavals that culminated with the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist bloc. In the euphoria that
ensued, the idea of technological redemption, inevitable democratization, and for
some, the end of history, coalesced into a popular ideology that equated technology
with empowerment. This idea was far from new. Indeed, the telegraph, electrical lighting, and telephony all emerged at similarly transformational historical junctures, leading to a long pedigree of speculation regarding the democratizing role of technology in
social and political change. 3
There is no doubt that the Internet has unleashed a wide-ranging and globally significant shift in communications—a shift that has led to the empowerment of individuals
and nonstate actors on an unprecedented scale. At times, the Internet seems uncontrollable, a constantly evolving and dynamic virtual realm, reshaped continuously by
a growing number of users at edge points of the network. But Newtonian physics is as
relevant in politics and cyberspace as it is in the physical realm. Just as with previous
technological developments, as the Internet has grown in political significance, an
Introducing Next-Generation Information Access Controls
Ronald Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski
Introduction
It is hard to imagine the world before the Internet. A generation of digital natives has
grown up with ubiquitous connectivity, where neither borders nor language seems a
barrier to communication. 1 And yet, less than 20 years ago the global information environment was a much more controlled and regulated space, organized around sovereign states. Throughout much of modern history, governments have wrestled with the
tensions of the relentless drive to build new technologies and the unpredictable and
often counterproductive consequences that flow from them for their power and authority. 2 No less of a historical figure than Stalin captured this tension between the
quest for modernity and the compulsion to control. When presented with a proposal
to build a modern telephone system for the new Soviet state, he reportedly replied, ‘‘I
can imagine no greater instrument of counterrevolution in our time.’’
The rise of the Internet coincided with a major set of political upheavals that culminated with the collapse of the Soviet Union and communist bloc. In the euphoria that
ensued, the idea of technological redemption, inevitable democratization, and for
some, the end of history, coalesced into a popular ideology that equated technology
with empowerment. This idea was far from new. Indeed, the telegraph, electrical lighting, and telephony all emerged at similarly transformational historical junctures, leading to a long pedigree of speculation regarding the democratizing role of technology in
social and political change. 3
There is no doubt that the Internet has unleashed a wide-ranging and globally significant shift in communications—a shift that has led to the empowerment of individuals
and nonstate actors on an unprecedented scale. At times, the Internet seems uncontrollable, a constantly evolving and dynamic virtual realm, reshaped continuously by
a growing number of users at edge points of the network. But Newtonian physics is as
relevant in politics and cyberspace as it is in the physical realm. Just as with previous
technological developments, as the Internet has grown in political significance, an