The Censorship-Industrial Complex and How It has the Internet in its Grip

These ideals crystallized into the five principles of the 2012 Declaration of Internet Freedom: non-censorship; universal access; freedom to connect and create; the right to privacy and control of personal information; and protection for technology and innovation.

In 2022, days after Elon Musk committed to a pro-free speech vision on acquiring Twitter, the White House issued the Declaration for the Future of the Internet, in direct contradiction with the 2012 Declaration of Internet Freedom.

While criticizing the policies of "Authoritarian" governments, the declaration calls for curbing "Disinformation" and "Harassment" in the pursuit of "Reclaiming the promise of the internet." It expresses concern about online platforms that spread "Illegal or harmful content," threaten safety and foment violence, and undermine "Respect for and protection of human rights and democratic institutions." The question, obviously, is who decides what amounts to disinformation, harassment, and illegal or harmful content.

The policies of the CIC, the report says, are essentially designed to quash the hallmark feature of the internet as a forum for open discourse befitting a free society, a space where the truth is discovered through dialogue and debate, empowering people to hold governments accountable and hence significantly reducing the risk of tyranny.

Testimony even revealed that the U.S. government funded organizations to pressure advertisers to boycott platforms that refuse to censor certain kinds of information or opinion or curb them in the name of "Fact-checking" or "Countering extremism." As the Twitter Files were released from December 2022 to March 2023, suppression and cover-ups came to light.

In 2020, the institute established the Commission on Information Disorder to, among other things - believe it or not - determine acceptable levels of diversity in viewpoint and opinion! Once members decided something was "Disinformation" or "Misinformation," it was looked on as a societal problem with "Life or death consequences." Blaming such material for decreasing levels of public trust in government institutions, members worked to block access to information that was politically inconvenient.

As the machinations of the CIC come to light and people become aware of how the information they access is increasingly manipulated, it may be possible to return to a free internet. 

https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2024/06/the_censorship_industrial_complex_and_how_it_has_the_internet_in_its_grip.html