Cyberspace borders

Blog entry also available in Brazilian Portuguese

            "Question everything" - July 13th, 2016

Last friday, March 18th 2022, saw brazilian justice Alexandre de Moraes issue an order to ban Telegram in Brazil on the grounds of non-cooperation with brazilian authorities.

First thing I'd like to put forward is that, personally, this is not a political alignment issue on my part.
I am not a Bolsonaro supporter, I'm not a conservative, and I've been left-aligned for most of my life.
My issue is that the internet freedom comes first and foremost. It is the single most important thing we all have.

With that out of the way:

Something these so-called authorities have to understand is that being an authority somewhere, does not automatically grant you an authority-status somewhere else.

Over the last 10 years or so we have seen moves from (theoretically) free countries on trying to control the internet, and that is very concerning.

It is concerning because the internet is supposed to be humankind's common free ground.

It is also concerning because we, the people of the internet, have been trying to accommodate for these whims from physical-world authorities.

The cyberspace has no concept of countries or authority.

We, Netizens, make the rules.

No country or law enforcement holds power here.

Efforts on uniting the tech community and the justice system, like Brazil's own "Civil Rights Framework for the Internet" are laughable at best.

We must stop all of these efforts and hold our ground before it's too late.

There is no middle ground.
There is no internet governance.

We, Netizens, must enforce the boundaries between the cyberspace and the physical world.
The cyberspace is based on our will and cooperation alone.

There is no obligation on our part.

The cyberspace is neutral. Its power comes from every individual.

I strongly recommend reading Barlow's 1996 essay on this very issue, available on the EFF: https://www.eff.org/cyberspace-independence

Stay strong, Internet.

Saturday, March 19, 2022 05:08:45 PM

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