valuable freedoms gained over the last 15 years in cyberspace will be sacrificed at the
altar of security.
These are troubling tendencies, and ones with implications far outside of the democratic countries of the OSCE. The confluence of second- and third-generation controls,
the militarization of cyberspace, and the legitimization of surveillance are contributing
to a dangerous brew. The cyberspace enjoyed by the next generation of users may be
a very different, more regulated, and less empowering domain than that which was
taken for granted in the past.
Notes
1. The Economist Intelligence Unit, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index of Democracy 2008 (The
Economist, 2008), http://graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy%20Index%202008.pdf.
2. Radio Free Europe, ‘‘Putin Quizzed by Internet Users,’’ July 6, 2006, http://www.rferl.org/
featuresarticle/2006/07/40C4C298-C619-4FCC-9D9D-D24787E10EAB.html.
3. ‘‘When did you start to have sex?’’ asked Kommersant reporter Andrei Kolesnikov on behalf of
5,640 Internet users. ‘‘I don’t remember when I started. But I can remember the last time,’’ Putin
replied. St Petersburg Times, ‘‘Putin Weighs In on Robots, Sex Following Internet Conference,’’ July
11, 2006, http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=18178.
4. As of March 31, 2009, the top five countries with the highest number of Internet users, in order
are China, United States, Japan, India, and Brazil. See Miniwatts Marketing Group, ‘‘Top 20
Countries with the Highest Number of Internet Users,’’ March 31, 2009, http://www
.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm.
5. Between 2005 and 2007 Internet use in the Russian Federation jumped from 15% to over 28%
of the population.
6. Popular sites include rutube, a Russian version of the popular U.S. site YouTube, as well as the
social network sites odnoklassniki.ru and vkontakte.ru, which are modeled after Classmates.com
and Facebook.com.
7. China has an estimated 298 million Internet users, while Korea possesses over 48 million users and
a 76.1 percent Internet penetration. Miniwatts Marketing Group, ‘‘Top 20 Countries with Highest
Number of Internet Users,’’ March 31, 2009, http://www.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm.
8. More significant yet than its impressive growth has been the emergence of RUNET at the center
of Russian popular culture. Internet memes and jokes once marginalized to the community of
computer specialists and aficionados are now in the mainstream of popular culture. For example,
Preved Medved, an allusion to primitive cartoon of a bear surprising a couple having sex in a field
and shouting preved (a deliberate misspelling of privet—a greeting, and medved—bear) has become
a cultural icon, showing up on the cover of mainstream journals, in advertisements, and even, as a
joke, in a question put to President Putin. Similarly, the Olbanian language, once an obscure Internet in-joke is now mainstream enough to have warranted a joke by President-elect Medvedev,
who, when asked whether it should become a school subject, replied, ‘‘One cannot ignore the
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Ronald Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski
altar of security.
These are troubling tendencies, and ones with implications far outside of the democratic countries of the OSCE. The confluence of second- and third-generation controls,
the militarization of cyberspace, and the legitimization of surveillance are contributing
to a dangerous brew. The cyberspace enjoyed by the next generation of users may be
a very different, more regulated, and less empowering domain than that which was
taken for granted in the past.
Notes
1. The Economist Intelligence Unit, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Index of Democracy 2008 (The
Economist, 2008), http://graphics.eiu.com/PDF/Democracy%20Index%202008.pdf.
2. Radio Free Europe, ‘‘Putin Quizzed by Internet Users,’’ July 6, 2006, http://www.rferl.org/
featuresarticle/2006/07/40C4C298-C619-4FCC-9D9D-D24787E10EAB.html.
3. ‘‘When did you start to have sex?’’ asked Kommersant reporter Andrei Kolesnikov on behalf of
5,640 Internet users. ‘‘I don’t remember when I started. But I can remember the last time,’’ Putin
replied. St Petersburg Times, ‘‘Putin Weighs In on Robots, Sex Following Internet Conference,’’ July
11, 2006, http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=18178.
4. As of March 31, 2009, the top five countries with the highest number of Internet users, in order
are China, United States, Japan, India, and Brazil. See Miniwatts Marketing Group, ‘‘Top 20
Countries with the Highest Number of Internet Users,’’ March 31, 2009, http://www
.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm.
5. Between 2005 and 2007 Internet use in the Russian Federation jumped from 15% to over 28%
of the population.
6. Popular sites include rutube, a Russian version of the popular U.S. site YouTube, as well as the
social network sites odnoklassniki.ru and vkontakte.ru, which are modeled after Classmates.com
and Facebook.com.
7. China has an estimated 298 million Internet users, while Korea possesses over 48 million users and
a 76.1 percent Internet penetration. Miniwatts Marketing Group, ‘‘Top 20 Countries with Highest
Number of Internet Users,’’ March 31, 2009, http://www.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm.
8. More significant yet than its impressive growth has been the emergence of RUNET at the center
of Russian popular culture. Internet memes and jokes once marginalized to the community of
computer specialists and aficionados are now in the mainstream of popular culture. For example,
Preved Medved, an allusion to primitive cartoon of a bear surprising a couple having sex in a field
and shouting preved (a deliberate misspelling of privet—a greeting, and medved—bear) has become
a cultural icon, showing up on the cover of mainstream journals, in advertisements, and even, as a
joke, in a question put to President Putin. Similarly, the Olbanian language, once an obscure Internet in-joke is now mainstream enough to have warranted a joke by President-elect Medvedev,
who, when asked whether it should become a school subject, replied, ‘‘One cannot ignore the
32
Ronald Deibert and Rafal Rohozinski