Reflecting tech and geopolitics expert Sameer Saran, the Internet no longer exists, as its early advocates had predicted, “the great liberation of human expression and the catalyst for the plural and democratic ideals.” Quite the opposite.
In his keynote address yesterday (May 12) on the first day of Black Hat Asia 2022, Sharan called on governments to take appropriate action to control the online world after a decade of challenges to liberal democracies.
Sharan, president of the Indian Think Tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF), said countries like India were caught between the erosive digital ecosystem built by tech giants in Silicon Valley and the more harmful alternative built by China.
While the US model advocates openness and (relative) freedom of expression, China is luring countries into its technological orbit with promises such as lower prices, foreign investment, and control and surveillance equipment. However, the US system is far below its intended ideals, as irresponsible corporate executives dictate in Digital Town Square “who listens, who is censored”, Saran said. He said social media has facilitated the spread of misinformation and hate speech.
But despite the crises of trust and legitimacy, online services have become so critical to our lives that we have to use them anyway.In addition, Saran emphasized that tech giants would appear in alternative attire to suit their circumstances – either as a public utility or as a private company when needed to discourage government intervention to protect themselves from private legal action.
Thankfully, many governments are beginning to wake up to the threat, Sharan said. “From Canberra to New Delhi and the EU, governments are trying to find ways to reduce the power of social media platforms.” However, he acknowledged that “the international nature of large technology makes it difficult to control the speed of information.”
The Chinese ecosystem is not counted on a completely different scale, Saran said, adding that real decision-makers in the Chinese Communist Party cannot join behind the Great Firewall. Sharan said the business model was “dividing democracies – inside and out”. The government, which runs the Internet through companies like Alibaba, works effectively for this purpose with the help of AI, deep duplicates and troll armies.
