China and Russia’s Orwellian attacks on Internet freedom

[Commentary] The week of Dec 14 brought a positively Orwellian moment to the debate about Internet freedom. China President Xi Jinping spoke at a state-organized Internet conference in Wuzhen, in Zhejiang province, where he was once party secretary. President Xi declared, “As in the real world, freedom and order are both necessary in cyberspace.” He added, “Freedom is what order is meant for, and order is the guarantee of freedom.” These slogans are more than just propaganda from the leader of a country with the world’s largest Internet censorship operation. Behind them lurks a dangerous ambition. Russia has been heading in the same direction for several years as President Vladimir Putin attempts to extinguish any serious opposition. The security services in Russia have direct access to the Internet through a physical monitoring system.

China and Russia have both attempted in recent years to nudge global Internet governance toward their misguided “sovereignty” model, so far without a lot of success. But as President Xi’s speech suggests, they haven’t given up. And they won’t. The digital revolution has delivered a truly global information superhighway. This powerful and remarkable invention must not be squandered or put in the hands of those who would use it to stifle free speech, freedom of association and human rights.