Well, as far as I know, all of these countries have political systems in which representatives are supposed to act on the behalf of the people. Basically, we can't all work full time to understand every political thing, and vote on them all, so we have someone do it for us: a representative.
Representatives very rarely represent themselves, and are almost always representing either powerful people ( often through lobbying) or citizens.
Given that an absolute minority of citizens are asking for this, it's fair to say it's a top down decision. Most citizens are concerned with things that aren't changing at all, if you'd like further proof on who the representatives work for.
By virtue of it being a top down decision, it is almost certainly being pushed by a small group of very powerful people. When a small group of people have all the power, that's called an oligarchy.
So the question is, why is the oligarchy pushing so hard for control of the internet right now? Well, it's probably not for fun.. so they are worried, I suppose.
Why they are so scared of citizenry though? Anyone that is criminal or really needs security will just use Faraday Cages with disconnected computers.
Literally there is nothing they can do against big league criminals with this much mass surveillance, so only logical conclusion is that this is only intended for use on citizenry.
I've tried to explain my thoughts on this before, so I'll give it the ol college try again.
I propose that the decentralized anarchistic, freedom of thought nature of the internet has essentially forced an acceleration the timetables for the totalitarian dystopian system.
The internet caught the oligarchs off guard, in the big scheme of things (the oligarchs make plans that their grandchildren execute)... and it took them a bit to catch up, and they now see it as the primary threat to their otherwise nearly total control of the mass consciousness. Think of every medium of communication, and see how it was more or less captured and controlled, whether it be print, radio, or television, and see that although heavily under attack, the internet is still very free, at least at it's core.
This creates a sort of arms race where the oligarchs must corrupt, control and compromise it faster than it can respond in a way that reveals enough of the truth to the masses that they risk some sort of neo-peasants revolt. In that goal they will use their already long tendrils into government and corporate ownership networks et al to accomplish the task. I could get into the nitty gritty, but that's the meta summary.
Surveillance is about control, not about security, but they have gotten very good at the Oxford debate posing that it is. (lamentations about the end of the nation state actor security threat for one)
It weirds me out that you're probably the first person I've seen in years on the internet saying something this "bold" and unambiguous.
I often wonder if there's some system in place which separates us. Or perhaps the combo of logic, intuition, and honesty is just super rare. I don't know, but I hope you're doing well and having a reasonably fulfilling adventure amongst this hellishly senseless superstition culture.
Friendly reminder to go out and see the stars from time to time.
Anarchists and other like-minded people have been aware and vocal about this power structure for decades, centuries even, long before the internet existed.
Why do you think anarchists have generally been tarred as destructive and dangerous in the media and by the political and corporate establishment for so long?
The most insidious thing is that the status quo has become so ingrained in people that they reflexively downvote, censor and ban anarchists, because their masters tell them to.
Thank you for the kind words stranger. I find myself staring at the stars quite frequently actually. Nothing like a full moon night in the desert or high country.
For what it's worth, the journey to this place was not easy for me, and has taken years of searching and learning. The constant struggle is against giving up, apathy is the glove into which evil slips it's hand and all that.
It's the only logical conclusion. And given that there's so many of us, and so few of them, and they've been taking advantage of us in a very abusive way... I don't think they're wrong. I think there's a good chance this goes sour for them.
