[nomilk]

It might do that too, but access to information is just so utterly critical, and exponentially moreso in circumstances where government brutally cracks down on it, as we saw in Egypt during the Arab Spring and we're seeing in Iran presently.

[exe34]

Will it work when the US government is the one cracking down, banning interviews, etc?

[AdamN]

In some cases yes. Tor for instance was created by the USG and is not easily controlled by the USG.

[account42]

That is a problem with no other country caring as much about free speech, not with the US having an anti-censorship program.

[jasonvorhe]

Then again, Egypt was definitely driven by Western agitators, as was the case Iran recently. Iran probably got Russian tech to trace starlink users during the blackout which put a target on many Western assets in Iran. I'm not saying the Iran government didn't also kill and torture independent actors nor that I support state violence (against its citizens, in this case). Just saying that any government will use violence to stay in power and to ensure regime change doesn't happen outside of whatever system the state upholds.

[ch4s3]

The claim that Iranian protesters were western agitators is a pernicious lie.

[linkregister]

Evidence to the contrary abounds regarding Egypt. Secretary of State Clinton famously rejected the popularly-elected Muslim Brotherhood government and pledged support to Mubarak. This tacit approval led him to have a successful coup against the popularly elected government.

If by "western" you meant some other power then you should be specific. Western as a term is imprecise and can be interpreted differently depending on the audience.

[NuclearPM]

Access to information is dangerous when the information is controlled propaganda.

[lucasRW]

That's what Iran, China, and Russia are saying too, right ? :o)

[simianparrot]

Yes Europe is in a really bad spot propaganda-wise. See Germany’s latest crusade against online «hate speech» — ie. unapproved political views.

[ceteia]

Would educating people instead and giving them more options for information, not be better than banning access to information?