{"id":2139,"date":"2011-10-26T19:31:55","date_gmt":"2011-10-26T23:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=2139"},"modified":"2011-10-26T19:31:55","modified_gmt":"2011-10-26T23:31:55","slug":"the-register-global-internet-surveillance-skyrocketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/the-register-global-internet-surveillance-skyrocketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The Register: Global internet surveillance skyrocketing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

(Photo courtesy: USAID)<\/p><\/div>\n

As I’ve mentioned in many previous articles<\/a>, the internet is surely an excellent first-world technology. However, as this article from The Register<\/a> points out, \u00a0the internet also hides a much shadowier, more alarming nature, exemplified in the growing amount of internet surveillance.<\/p>\n

A top US government official believes that the internet is under fierce attack by authoritarian governments worldwide, and that the situation is rapidly deteriorating.<\/p>\n

“Today we face a series of challenges at the intersection of human rights, connected technologies, business, and government. It’s a busy intersection \u2013 and a lot of people want to put up traffic lights,” said US Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner, speaking at the Silicon Valley Human Rights Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

[…]And as information communications technology moves ever deeper into less-developed countries, Posner sees the problems increasing. “These are the places where repressive regimes are getting hold of the latest, greatest Western technologies and using them to spy on their own citizens for purposes of silencing dissent,” he said. “Journalists, bloggers and activists are of course the primary targets.”<\/p>\n

From his point of view, governments in some of these emerging markets “appear fiercely determined to control what people do online.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Again, this underlines the straightforward, egalitarian nature of an alternative media source: \u00a0shortwave radio. \u00a0People living under the control of such a regime can turn to radio to hear voices from across the globe, to dispel inaccuracies and fallacies, and learn the truth. \u00a0Unlike the internet, there’s no virtual gateway that can be locked down by a government’s heavy hand. Shortwave radio has no regard for border crossings.<\/p>\n

\"\"Best of all, no one can prevent these listeners from listening; no one can track them or their listening habits.<\/p>\n

Herein lies my fear that, as many large international broadcasters such as the BBC, VOA<\/a>, DW and others abandon shortwave service to invest in the internet, we put all our eggs in one tenuous basket. Certainly, we can invest in technologies which attempt to stall government efforts to temper our internet presence in, for example, China; but what about the people accessing these protective internet sites? \u00a0Who is watching them and their surfing habits?<\/p>\n

Crack<\/em>. \u00a0There goes democracy…<\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I’ve mentioned in many previous articles, the internet is surely an excellent first-world technology. However, as this article from The Register points out, \u00a0the internet also hides a much shadowier, more alarming nature, exemplified in the growing amount of internet surveillance. A top US government official believes that the internet is under fierce attack […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[662,661,84],"class_list":["post-2139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles","tag-internet","tag-soapbox","tag-why-shortwave-radio"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-yv","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45148,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/elecraft-posts-photos-of-the-new-k4-transceiver-in-production\/","url_meta":{"origin":2139,"position":0},"title":"Elecraft posts photos of the new K4 transceiver in production","author":"Thomas","date":"September 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Elecraft had hoped to start shipping the new K4 flagship transceiver this week and I'm sure it's been a real challenge realizing this goal in the day and age of the Covid-19 pandemic. This morning, Elecraft posted the following photo on their Twitter account with the caption, \"New K4s in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Elecraft-K4-Production-e1599054036326.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Elecraft-K4-Production-e1599054036326.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Elecraft-K4-Production-e1599054036326.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Elecraft-K4-Production-e1599054036326.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/Elecraft-K4-Production-e1599054036326.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":58502,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2023\/12\/photo-essay-shows-radios-in-use-in-refugee-camp\/","url_meta":{"origin":2139,"position":1},"title":"Photo essay shows radios in use in refugee camp","author":"Thomas","date":"December 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Carlos Latuff, who writes: A photo essay from Said Khatib (AFP via Getty Images) in Rafah refugee Camp, southern Gaza Strip, on December 19, 2023, shows the importance of the radio in a war-torn environment. Embed from Getty Images One of the radio sets\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/res_ca0268462cb936c4590abe3ecea15348-300x300.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":28407,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/photos-of-wrmi-antenna-field-damage\/","url_meta":{"origin":2139,"position":2},"title":"Photos of WRMI antenna field damage","author":"Thomas","date":"September 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Since we've been following WRMI in the wake of Hurricane Irma, I've posted a few photos below that WRMI shared on their Facebook page. These photos give us an idea about the magnitude of damage to their antenna farm. Amazingly, Jeff White confirmed a few days ago that\u00a0WRMI is back\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Broadcasters"","block_context":{"text":"Broadcasters","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/broadcasters\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/WRMI-Irma-damage5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/WRMI-Irma-damage5.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/WRMI-Irma-damage5.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/WRMI-Irma-damage5.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":49697,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2021\/07\/santiago-spots-a-soviet-era-portable-in-the-queens-gambit\/","url_meta":{"origin":2139,"position":3},"title":"Santiago spots a Soviet-era portable in “The Queen’s Gambit”","author":"Thomas","date":"July 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, Santiago Roland (CX1DR), who writes: Hi Thomas, I'm a reader of your blog since 2015 and i was looking for movies showing shortwave radio models. I ended up in your blog again, lol, and decided to write to you and tell you that your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/vef206.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/vef206.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/vef206.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/vef206.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/vef206.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/vef206.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":40191,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/10\/radio-malaysia-qsl-and-memories\/","url_meta":{"origin":2139,"position":4},"title":"Radio Malaysia QSL and memories","author":"Thomas","date":"October 18, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In response to our post regarding Radio Sarawak, SWLing Post contributor, M Breyel, shares the following: These were the shortwave frequencies RTM used in 1975. This is my QSL card for an RTM transmission originating from Penang, as received on Denver, Colorado. [Click images to enlarge.] Most MW stations in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mediumwave"","block_context":{"text":"Mediumwave","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/mediumwave\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Radio-Malaysia-PhotoRTM-HQ.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Radio-Malaysia-PhotoRTM-HQ.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Radio-Malaysia-PhotoRTM-HQ.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Radio-Malaysia-PhotoRTM-HQ.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44333,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/can-you-help-john-identify-a-vintage-shortwave-radio-book\/","url_meta":{"origin":2139,"position":5},"title":"Can you help John identify a vintage shortwave radio book–?","author":"Thomas","date":"July 14, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many thanks to SWLing Post contributor, John (KC8RZM), who writes: I wonder if anyone at SWLing can help me identify this book on shortwave listening from my childhood. It was an older book when I checked it out from the local library mid-1970s but what I remember specifically is that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Panasonic-RF-2200-Dial-Angle-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}