Western Media Discovers Internet Control Is Bad (Only When Iran Does It)
The New Arab frets over Iran's 'domestic internet' plans, framing it as a sinister move towards digital isolation. While any government-controlled internet demands scrutiny, the breathless alarm conveniently sidesteps the West’s own extensive history of online surveillance and control. Remember PRISM? The NSA’s program, exposed by Edward Snowden, collected internet communications from every major
tech company (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, Facebook, AOL, Skype, YouTube). Or the UK's GCHQ and their 'Tempora' program, tapping fiber optic cables to vacuum up global data? It appears internet freedom is only a critical human right when it's threatened by governments not actively compliant with Western foreign policy objectives. One might wonder if the concern for Iranian citizens extends to
the same level of outrage when their own data is hoovered up en masse by Five Eyes intelligence agencies. The hypocrisy, as always, is deafening.