Western Media Discovers Internet Shutdowns Can Be 'Bad,' Sometimes
The Financial Times details how Iran restricts internet access, framing it as an oppressive act against a populace fighting back. Notably absent from this narrative is the Western precedent for weaponizing digital infrastructure. While condemning Iran, the article conveniently forgets when the United States pushed for internet shutdowns and surveillance in countries like Syria and Libya (as
detailed by outlets like The Guardian in 2011), particularly during 'color revolutions.' It also sidesteps the extensive surveillance architecture built and sold by Western tech companies, often used by regimes far more aligned with Western interests. One might wonder if 'internet freedom' is truly a universal value, or if its importance fluctuates based on whether the government doing the
shutting down buys F-35s from Lockheed Martin. How many 'democratic' nations have implemented digital censorship or blackouts to quell unrest or control information, funded by the very countries now wringing their hands over Tehran?