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Internet triggers avatar activism

January 30, 2012
	<p>Hokans</p>

Hokans

A few weeks ago, millions of concerned citizens gathered to topple a great injustice in their government. However, this gathering did not occur in Cairo, New York, or any other city around the world for that matter — it happened in cyberspace. The mass demonstration that defeated the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act was a major moment in social activist history and the world should take notice.

After the events of Jan. 18, it now is questionable whether taking to the streets at all is useful when you can just go online to make your voice heard.

The idea of online-only activism should serve as no surprise as most other facets of our lives are going online too. One in 10 Americans now utilize online dating sites, there’s a Cyber Monday to complement Black Friday, and Facebook gives us the power to meet anyone while Wikipedia lets us know anything. Although academics argue about “Bowling Alone,” ADD and the other possible effects of this shift, the world is not slowing down.

I sometimes wonder if the interacting I do in this world is any more real than the ones I do in the online world.

But up until Jan. 18 the domain of social activism remained the concrete jungle of the streets. The Internet was seen merely as a tool to announce and organize or rally your base but not to effect real change. This is no longer the case. Why put boots on the ground in front of a capitol when you can attack injustice from your bedroom?

Celebrity hacker sects cripple the websites of those they oppose. The average citizen has the power to flood the inboxes of misguided politicians and corporations alike. Boycotts of online stores can be organized almost instantly with the help of social media.

In fact, it now seems foolish to go out into the streets where dangerous authorities lurk when just as much can be done online. This is the same tactic the U.S. military has adopted with drone warfare overseas. On Jan. 18 it became apparent that the realm of social activism is ripe for a similar change. Protest movements used to use the Internet to bring people into the streets, but now we can bring the streets to the Internet.

Cyber activism could be employed in the fight against almost any social ill facing society today. For every one person occupying Wall Street there are 10 more willing to use Facebook, Twitter, or Reddit to promote the cause. So while organizing may still be necessary, it should no longer focus solely on amassing demonstrations if just as much can be accomplished online.

The power of online activism Jan. 18 showed the world the Internet should not be underrated because those in power certainly aren’t ignoring it. Companies spent $140 million in lobbying efforts in the last year to support the SOPA/PIPA bills. The FBI thought the kind of tactics used to bring down Osama bin Laden were necessary to stop a file sharing website. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are illegal in China and elsewhere. The Internet’s status as one of the last great public spaces faces threats from all fronts.

Yet, they have a point, and a substantial one. Copyright infringement does destroy American jobs and a substantial amount of a company’s bottom line. Facebook allows governments around the world to use their services to hunt down political opponents at the same time those opponents use it to organize.

However, to allow these concerns to overshadow the benefits of online freedom is to fall the way of all those progress-weary thinkers history has proven wrong time and time again.

The Internet itself now gives us the power to stand up for any social cause the public cares to support. The same principles that carried outraged citizens to the barricades, into Boston Harbor and to the Washington Mall can now carry even more on to Twitter, Facebook and other sites.

Anything is possible now just as long as we heed the words of the hackers, or should I say social activists. Anonymous: “If your government shuts down the Internet, shut down your government.”

Christian Hokans is a State News guest columnist and political theory and constitutional democracy junior. Reach him at hokansch@msu.edu.

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