The internet at risk: Experts warn of ‘scary’ threats to digital freedom—and what you can do to fight back

In an era where nearly everything we do carries a digital footprint, experts warn that our freedoms are increasingly under attack. But the average internet user can take steps to fight back against threats that range from mass surveillance to the decline of net neutrality to changes to the very architecture of the internet. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is calling on people to become involved in the nonprofit’s wide-ranging work at the intersection of technology and civil liberties. Last month, for example, it filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking transparency about DOGE’s access to Americans’ personal information and has a petition for people to sign that will be sent to Congressional members.

“There’s such an important space for everyone to be involved in defending and continuing to advance rights,” Nicole Ozer, technology and civil liberties director for the ACLU of Northern California, said during a discussion at the Fast Company Grill at SXSW. “This is not a moment where we just have to crawl into a ball, this is a moment where we have to be aggressively using our entire toolkit to be doing what’s right for ourselves and our communities.”

Fighting for what people want is important, especially because many people may not appreciate the access afforded by the internet, added Alissa Starzak, deputy chief legal officer and global head of policy at Cloudflare. “We sort of take it for granted, but now is a time when it’s starting to fall apart, and so really thinking about what we can do to sort-of make sure that doesn’t happen is going to be important.”

What’s scary right now

One sign that Western democracies are moving closer to their versions of a restricted internet was the recent, temporary ban of TikTok, said Stan Adams, public policy specialist at the Wikimedia Foundation. “As a precedent, that is not a great thing for Western democracies.”

The TikTok ban also raised important questions about who implements that type of ban—and how, Starzak added. “People are going down into the internet’s architecture and they’re changing things so that they can limit access, and that is a very scary world if you think about the open internet as a good thing.”

What’s more, in a time when we’re all living “incredibly digital lives,” the ACLU is focused on ensuring that all of digital information—about who we are, where we go, what we do, and what we know—is safeguarded and isn’t weaponized against us, Ozer said. 

For example, the ACLU is working to pass laws to limit the use of geofence warrants so the government can’t find out every single person who has been somewhere at a given time—be it SXSW, a protest, or a reproductive clinic, Ozer added. “That is so scary, particularly in this current moment.”

Even age verification laws for certain websites, which Adams pointed out are ostensibly intended to keep children from viewing harmful content, also have implications for digital freedom. That’s because they serve as a partial block to people who don’t have a government ID, people who cannot prove who they are, or people who don’t want to submit a facial scan. 

“It’s still a trend in the wrong direction,” Adams said. “It’s just a soft way of saying don’t go there, which is bad for internet freedom generally.” 

Why activism matters

If Cloudflare gets pressured to block something, the company prioritizes transparency and tries to advertise what’s happening so that people know, Starzak said. “The reality is if you live in a democracy, you should care about these issues.”

What’s more, she said, there have been some victories that show the power of activism—such as early-2010s opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), which the U.S. Congress ultimately decided not to pass that legislation. “We all have a role to play,” Starzak said. 

Adams and Ozer echoed this sentiment. 

“People like the internet, we all use it, it’s a valuable tool for everyone,” Adams said. “And when we get upset about things that the government does or the companies do, we should speak out about that.” 

Finally, Ozer emphasized that people have more power than they may realize, especially when it comes to issues people care about. “Democracy doesn’t defend itself and laws don’t pass on their own,” she said. “ We have to have the power as people to move those issues forward.”

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