If your govt decided to police/own the internet, would you stand up against your govt

[igame]

So, Of late many governments (The barbaric middle eastern regimes, China, US, UK etc) have been trying to police and to put it into simple internet lingo 'own' the internet.
We all love and appreciate the freedom the internet gives us. On any given day we may support WoW, GW, SWToR or anything else but in our hearts we are a community who fights and argues and still stays together because of the internet.
Internet is our home...on a rough day we log on to kill a few virtual characters to get our frustrations out, we have met friends and life partners on internet, it has brought us all together, bypassing the geographical limitations.

So, if tomorrow your government was to try and take away the "Liberty and Freedom" of Internet, would you stand for Internet?

Rules:
*You are not expected to do anything illegal.
*You may use the democratic procedure, hold demonstrations, write to your senators/parliament representatives etc to repeal any laws against freedom of internet.
*" IF and ONLY IF you so please, you may participate in a clandestine movement to save the internet from your government but this is optional.*

Please list which country you come from and what the internet means to you and if you would fight for it, if the day came that our freedom on the internet was about to be taken away if you would stand with us or let the barbarians destroy our virtual homes.

---------- Post added 2012-04-03 at 11:26 AM ----------

Personally, I would do all it takes, I am not tech savvy but if someone was to tell me how to help, I would do me best to help. I love the internet, I love the trolls, I love our differences and our memes and our agreements. I do not want to imagine a life without a free Internet.

[semaphore]

Well it depends on what exactly is meant by own/police. If we are talking about a level of control akin to the Great Firewall of China or say the more extreme elements of SOPA, then I don't really see a choice. Internet is simply too integral to society. I'm not prepared to give up my liberty.

However I'd like to think that we can defeat any such proposals before it gets enacted.

[Maelle]

The barbaric middle eastern regimes

Was that really necessary?

[Deleted]

My gouvernment is already doing that and I am standing against it how I can. That said... it doesn't give a shit about people think.

[Zecora]

Of course. We're talking cilvil liberties here, and those should always be fought for!

[Prag]

It'd probably be the last straw for me. I'd move to Canada or Ireland.

[Deleted]

My gouvernment is already doing that and I am standing against it how I can. That said... it doesn't give a shit about people think.

I'm in the same position and i'm also doing whatever i can, unfortunately the politicians ignore their own citizens in Sweden.

[igame]

Was that really necessary?

yes, I wanted to group them together with the so called pioneers of freedom like US and UK. Some countries promote and support terrorism, others use it as an excuse to take away civil liberties and freedoms from their own people.

---------- Post added 2012-04-03 at 10:03 PM ----------

I'm in the same position and i'm also doing whatever i can, unfortunately the politicians ignore their own citizens in Sweden.

Not just in Sweden, politicians are the worst breed of mankind, they are garbage everywhere. Gone are the days of leaders like Churchill and Kennedy

[bekilrwale]

Whenever I see an act or bill I don't agree with I mail my congressman so yes I would stand against it. If it came to an armed conflict, it depends on who is leading the side standing for internet freedom, and if the general populous agrees with our message and is willing to support it. I won't be a martyr for a lost cause. U.S.

[Razeo]

Yes of course, I usually just watch the news over mobs who disagree with a bill or law being passed but if something like this were to ever happen.... enough is enough! Since this one would hit closer to home, I'm going to the nearest zerg of people with signs and join the bandwagon!!

[Jaxi]

I think I dislike pirates more than I like a free internet. Probably not.

[igame]

I think I dislike pirates more than I like a free internet. Probably not.

While I see your point, how is it fair that punishment for downloading a song is more than the punishment for rape? That's what SOPA would have done.

[Shigeru]

I'm from Norway. Let's assume the norwegian govt wanted to take away our online freedom like forexample China, where everything, and I mean everything is censored and locked.. well, I'd be inclined to stand up for it. I'd protest etc, I'd even be willing to do illegal stuff even if there's a risk it'll backfire on me. This isn't because I'm addicted to online gaming/porn, it's mostly out of principle. If you try to take away someones freedom, especially the freedom of your own people, you shouldn't expect a positive outcome.

[Skelington]

Skelington likes to think he would, but realistically he would probably sit at home, maybe write an angry letter, and miss the internet. As far as an actual armed rebellion goes, probably if enough people support it and it becomes a country-changing event, rather than a handful of raging internet-folks.

[igame]

I'm from Norway. Let's assume the norwegian govt wanted to take away our online freedom like forexample China, where everything, and I mean everything is censored and locked.. well, I'd be inclined to stand up for it. I'd protest etc, I'd even be willing to do illegal stuff even if there's a risk it'll backfire on me. This isn't because I'm addicted to online gaming/porn, it's mostly out of principle. If you try to take away someones freedom, especially the freedom of your own people, you shouldn't expect a positive outcome.

Hear hear! Internet is the last true medium of free speech. All media is owned by douchebags like murdoch and controlled by their and government's interests.
The ability of internet to mobilise the masses as witnessed during the Arab spring has many other politicians across different countries scrambling to try and control/censor it.
I am in Australia and if we ever had anything like SOPA, I'd personally go print leaflets and take days off to raise awareness and protest and whatever else it takes.

[KingHorse]

The ability of internet to mobilise the masses as witnessed during the Arab spring has many other politicians across different countries scrambling to try and control/censor it.

Many people would have no interest whatsoever in the restrictions that most of these horrible laws are trying to put in place.
You have to weed out:
A minority who don't even access the internet regularly.
A large number of people who are simply uninterested in the things that would be restricted.
Another group of them who would grudgingly obey the rules.
Another group who would be too useless/spineless to do anything effective.
And you're left with a very small group of people who would actively, effectively fight something like this. But the good news is, that handful could band together and cripple most networks.

Personally, I'd work within the legal system to have a recall vote on anyone who voted for it.

[Arrowspace]

Heck yes, I would.

I live in the USA, but I was born in Canada. It's because of the internet that I have a happy marriage and can still talk to my family through convenient and relatively inexpensive means. It is easier to communicate than ever, makes our life a heck of a lot more convenient, and has enabled many unexpected innovations.

It's a part of the culture of many groups of people. Many politicians are too old, crotchety, and set in their ways to understand.

Personally, it would just baffle me as to how anyone could think it's a good idea to try to stifle the internet, which is home to at least part of the lives of individuals, families, businesses large and small, and even politicians. The resources of the internet can make us smarter, and it has facilitated more widespread understanding/appreciation between so many people of different countries, races, and cultures than anything ever has in the past. Successful products and businesses are grown in the fertile soil of the digital landscape.

Yes, piracy is bad m'kay, but it's not like the internet is solely occupied by pirates. Policing, owning, or censoring the internet would be like making it illegal for people to form groups of three or more and talk to each other...because terrorists congregate into groups to discuss their plans together.

"Owning" it (if you can even own a thing as pervasive as the internet) would be a bad move for everyone...even the movie/music industry. I'd even say it would be flat-out tyrannical.

[cFortyfive]

Likely not - wouldn't work well with the job. Maybe something without the chance of being identified - but that probably doesn't fall under the entirely legal category.

[Coombs]

I fully support a system where it is no longer safe to talk shit on the internet. I'd rather people's real life addresses be handed out so some swift justice could be handed down, but I can live with them paying fines and being put in prison.

[Advent]

I'd probably go to Washington DC and have a very long chat with the people in charge.