Open AccessThe Emergence of a Freedom of Information Movement: Anonymous, WikiLeaks , the Pirate Party, and Iceland
Author(s) -
Beyer Jessica L.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/jcc4.12050
Subject(s) - censorship , freedom of information , the internet , rhetoric , freedom of the press , liberalization , political science , freedom of expression , law , sociology , internet privacy , law and economics , computer science , human rights , politics , world wide web , linguistics , philosophy
Online rhetoric about the Internet's potential to change society, the need to reform intellectual property laws, and the evils of censorship is becoming increasingly similar across sites. The push for “freedom of information” is not restricted to online spaces, but it appears to be born from such spaces, with the concept itself shaped by the presence of the Internet and its effect on networked societies. Focusing on WikiLeaks , the Pirate Party, Anonymous, and Iceland, I describe the emerging coalescence of “freedom of information” advocates pushing for a simultaneous liberalization and homogenization of freedom of information regulations across democracies .