When Social Networks Become Tools of Oppression: Jillian C. York
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June 7 (Bloomberg) -- When Syria’s government unblockedFacebook, YouTube and Blogspot in February, many activists sawthe move as an overture to protesters, possibly one offering asemblance of the freedoms won by insurgents in Egypt andTunisia.
Others saw it as a potential means of surveillance. Theywere right: Within weeks, reports began to emerge from detainedSyrian activists who said that authorities had demanded theirFacebook passwords. Others inside the country noted that theirfriends’ Facebook walls had been compromised and now containedpro-regime sentiment.