Shutting Down Social Networks?

“The thought police would get him just the same. He had committed–would have committed, even if he had never set pen to paper–the essential crime that contained all others in itself. Thoughtcrime, they called it. Thoughtcrime was not a thing that could be concealed forever. You might dodge successfully for a while, even for years, but sooner or later they were bound to get you.” George Orwell, 1984.

Shutting down social networks will be discussed heavily over the forthcoming weeks in a knee jerk reaction to the riots last week in some English cities. What a great idea:

1. It seems to work well in China. They have very few protests, riots and anarchy. It allows the Chinese government to prevent students, artists, public sector workers and any other agent provocateurs from ‘starting fires.’

2. We could ban talking out loud in shops, restaurants, homes and work during civil unrest as well. Perhaps during these times we could ban body language too.

3. Other governments in the world could follow our lead then we wouldn’t have the uprisings against dictatorships that we have seen in the Middle East and Africa.

4. Lets turn off the broadcast channels too such as BBC News24 and Sky News. They showed the violence visually and then discontent wouldn’t have turned viral.

5. Whilst we are on it, lets also stop people owning boats so we can prevent drugs landing in the UK and the road network shut down for several hours because thousands of people a year don’t have car insurance.

I am of course being a bit of a tease, but with a serious undertone. The reporting of an Eygptian activist being charged for a tweet she sent during Egypt’s uprising is a reminder to us all. During the Arab uprisings social networks were upheld as providing the arteries to freedom by the UK government. Now we are talking about doing the same thing as China and Egypt attempted to do during civil disturbance. Not only can the ‘shutting down’ be completely circumnavigated technically, but we would be punishing millions of users for the actions of a few thousand. Cause and effect are in motion. Stop solving the effect and go back to the route cause. Bloom’s Taxonomy at work; when in doubt become unconsciously incompetent.

“It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself–anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face…; was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime…” George Orwell, 1984.