As I mentioned in a previous blog post, societies and cultures are being shaped through negotations with the global networks of the internet and the ecologies of cyberspace. But the change has not just been simple transformation of the already established cultures of the physical “real world”. As an entirely new and universally large Cyberspace emerges, completely removed from the constraints of pre-existing governing bodies, new kinds of cultures and social orders emerge that would not have been previously possible in physical space (Barlow 1996). As Dyson et al. (1994) acknowledge, the emergence of Cyberspace presents humanity with new sets of problems in terms of how such a space should be governed.
Cyberlibertarianism is a term that gets thrown about a lot online. Cyberlibertarianism is an internet philosophy that advocates complete online freedom of information and expression without interference from governments and institutions (Goldsborough 2000). The idea instead is for the internet to be governed in a loose sense through debate and coordinated online activism, or not at all (Castels 2004). John Perry Barlow (1996) describes a new world with complete freedom of expression without coercion or censoring; a world without racial prejudices or imbalances in social power. But does this philosophy keep true to its promises?
https://twitter.com/zeldawilliams/status/499432576872755201
Earlier this week news broke across the world that Oscar-winning actor Robin Williams had killed himself. While it wasn’t long before tributes, articles and commemorative memes began circulating the social media, it seems it also wasn’t long before people were harassing the late Williams’ family. Just yesterday it was reported that Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda, had decided to abandon her Twitter and Instagram accounts after having them mined for pictures of her father and becoming platforms for online trolling (ABC News 2014). While Twitter did manage to suspend a number of users in this instance, this is just one very recent example of online harassment that is allowed to run rampant under the anarchic governance of Cyberlibertarian philosophy. The large scale online bullying and harassment of teenage pop-wannabe Rebecca Black and pop-culture feminist Anita Sarkeesian serve as further examples of the failings of an internet that is almost entirely free from any sort of governance or moderation.
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