{"id":3948,"date":"2017-04-30T13:50:04","date_gmt":"2017-04-30T20:50:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bclaconnectrev.wpengine.com\/perspectives\/?p=3948"},"modified":"2025-01-22T11:26:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T19:26:36","slug":"openmedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bclaconnect.ca\/perspectives\/2017\/04\/30\/openmedia\/","title":{"rendered":"Why intellectual freedom relies on a free and open internet"},"content":{"rendered":"

[INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM]<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

\"\"OpenMedia has had the privilege of working and collaborating with the BC Library Association in different ways for many years, which is\u00a0why it was an amazing honour for us to be recognized at the recent BC Library Conference\u00a0with the BCLA\u2019s Intellectual Freedom Award<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This award meant a great deal to OpenMedia\u2019s team of digital rights activists, especially because intellectual freedom goes to the core of what our organization is trying to defend through the open internet \u2014 a space for people to come together, share ideas, and connect.<\/p>\n

One of the most amazing things about the internet is the endless possibility \u2013 for information, for connectivity, for collaboration, for intellectual freedom. At OpenMedia, we\u2019ve seen the excitement about its potential since day one.\u00a0Sadly, this potential is far from guaranteed. Increasingly we\u2019re seeing the internet under threat \u2014 across Canada, the United States, and the world.<\/p>\n

Fake news is being used as a way to justify censorship. Innocent journalists are being spied on for their work. Net Neutrality is under threat across the globe. Greedy telecom conglomerates take any chance they can get to drive up the cost of Internet access, forcing low-income people and families offline. And security agencies across the world are turning the greatest tool for connectivity that mankind has ever invented into a tool to spy on the private lives of everybody.<\/p>\n

This combination means that if we don\u2019t push back, we\u2019ll end up with an Internet where already marginalized voices are silenced, not amplified. An Internet that becomes the most powerful tool for mass surveillance humanity has ever known. An Internet with fast lanes for the already powerful, slow lanes for the rest of us. An Internet where ISPs can sell your browsing history to the highest bidder. An Internet that entrenches financial and political power and privilege instead of being a level playing field where all can be heard.<\/p>\n

The consequences of such a shift would be profound. After all, the fight for an open Internet is, essentially, a fight for an open society that allows each of us to reach our fullest potential. The Internet was created for sharing and connecting, not for surveillance or censorship \u2014 as Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web put it, \u201cThe original idea of the web was that it should be a collaborative space where you can communicate through sharing information.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is also why the fight for an open Internet is inseparable from our right to intellectual freedom. Intellectual freedom means being free to think, learn, grow, change, and communicate \u2013 it is fundamental to who we are. To an informed citizenry. And to democracy.<\/p>\n

These days, the Internet is an essential tool for anyone who wishes to exercise those basic human freedoms. OpenMedia will continue working for a free and open Internet that is affordable and free of censorship and surveillance. You can learn more about our work at OpenMedia.org<\/a>, or by joining the conversation with us on Facebook<\/a> or Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Laura Tribe<\/strong> is Executive Director of OpenMedia, a community-based organization that works to keep the Internet open, affordable, and surveillance-free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM] OpenMedia has had the privilege of working and collaborating with the BC Library Association in different ways for many years, which is\u00a0why it was an amazing honour for us to be recognized at the recent BC Library Conference\u00a0with the BCLA\u2019s Intellectual Freedom Award. This award meant a great deal to OpenMedia\u2019s team of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[138,120],"tags":[144],"class_list":["post-3948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-issue-2-the-library-values-issue","category-volume-9-2017","tag-intellectual-freedom"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy intellectual freedom relies on a free and open internet - BCLA Perspectives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bclaconnect.ca\/perspectives\/2017\/04\/30\/openmedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why intellectual freedom relies on a free and open internet - BCLA Perspectives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM] OpenMedia has had the privilege of working and collaborating with the BC Library Association in different ways for many years, which is\u00a0why it was an amazing honour for us to be recognized at the recent BC Library Conference\u00a0with the BCLA\u2019s Intellectual Freedom Award. 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