General Article Children of the Internet: free speech in the digital age

Topic Selected: Censorship
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By Nishith Hedge

 

Unlike any previous time in the history of the world, there is a generation growing up today with unprecedented knowledge and power at their immediate and constant disposal. Their voices cannot be silenced, they can communicate with each other instantaneously from anywhere in the world. They are children of the Internet, and they are politically and socially empowered in ways that are not yet clearly understood. Increasingly defining their identities online as much as offline, net-powered Millennial’s are collectively reshaping social norms – defining the legacy their generation will leave society. The Internet is a product of, and a critical factor in, this legacy.

For example, the Internet is a key medium for personal expression. Deliberately open-access and open-source architectures that transcend national boundaries means that the online world is a place where its users become increasingly accustomed to possessing both a platform and a voice regardless of thei...

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