Governmental interference in digital infrastructure is not unusual in autocratic regimes. Governments use information communications (ICT) when and where they feel like it, it is usually enforced to demobilize opposition activists online, or to prevent the spread of information that could affect the integrity of the regime or even used to spy on the population to prevent the spread of movements against the regime.
Hosani Mubarak.
- Complete internet shut down in January of 2011.
Chinese Government:
- Censoring of online content deemed unacceptable.
As the world has digitized it has made it more difficult for dictatorships to interfere in communication whilst at the same time being a massive opportunity for autocrats. Modern technologies require more sophistication for governments to interfere which makes it more difficult to attain, however technological advancements have created a space where more possibilities arise such as automated interference like censorship programmes having the ability to censor unwanted content.
The internet is a system of stacked network Layers.
- Infrastructure Layer
Research in 2006 found autocracies behind in digital innovation and internet penetration rates were found lower than democratic counterparts, research in 2017 found that they have now caught up. To some the delay was a strategic choice, to only introduce internet service after control mechanisms were installed. Some governments are actively involved in disrupting general infrastructure for digital communication. If there is a political event or anything potentially threatening to a regime even when infrastructure is in place there are other options of disabling the entire infrastructure temporarily, which disconnects parts of the population if not all of it.
- Network Layer
The network layer is a system of networks that is essential for transmitting information, according to several studies, authoritarian governments censor information systematically as means to push their agenda and prevent opposition. The most popular example is the great firewall of China, the government uses censorship technologies to regulate what content the public can see and different types of software they are allowed to use, this is done by restricting connections to specific websites and services resulting in a highly regulated National intranet. cheaper way of censoring information (when automatic control is restricted) is a “denial of service attack”, such attacks affect servers by swapping them with requests until it cannot be reached anymore, when governments do not have jurisdiction to servers (hosting servers), such as domestic company owned servers, governments can often force companies to comply with control practices. Another way network layer interference is by monitoring opposition and the public. Routing manipulation is done by forcing digital traffic through government providers before it can reach its destination, an example being the re-routing of messages on telegram via providers in Iran, resulting in the government gaining access to the content of the messages that were sent. One more technique is deep packet inspections, a constant scan and automated surveillance for the benefit of authorities, resulting in the ability to identify potential dissidents by tracking users attempting to gain access to threatening content.
Application Layer
The application layer is where most scholars and experts' study how autocratic regimes control the internet. There are four ways that autocratic regimes use the internet:
When lower-level filtering fails, or unavailable autocrats turn to controlling and conserving content. The Chinese government taxes information users have to pay to keep the ability to view censored material.
Governments are complementing censorship with more strategies, such as flooding the internet with distracting content, promoting pro-government messages to manipulate public opinion in hopes to enhance their image, but oftentimes tactics can be more aggressive such as spreading misinformation about opposition actors and even harassment of online users.
As the world moves online governmental surveillance has been made easier, social media leaves a digital footprint highlighting who, what, where and when, thus making it easier for governments to distinguish dissidents, resulting in a better scope of who to censor. Some governments like China are open to how they surveillance the population, but whether or not the population are aware surveillance usually results in self-surveillance, example being people may often act differently or crime might differ as they are aware they are possibly being surveillance even when they aren't.
With the internet being a tool for public opinion, autocracies often find the need to have controlled platforms which limit what opinions can be published, this is also done to limit public unrest.
The way we understand how digital communication functions in autocracies have expanded, scholars argue that the internet has changed how autocracies control the public, the introduction of the internet has seen a fall of overt violence, scholars also acknowledge the theoretical gaps and empirical challenges in studying the role of the internet in politics, but also as the world has moved into a digital world traditional tactics have become digital meaning autocratic regime interferences may become harder to spot. Tool dependent research has also posed a problem to how we can research autocracies with many being reliant on specific platforms like twitter, as most platforms have the power to change policies at will, change often hinders research. Another issue with online communication is the effectiveness of who is behind the screen, we cannot see that the government is in charge of an account for certain, so it hinders the confidence of the people investigating (researching). There are also discussions on whether certain tactics are actually effective, like the pay to view system currently held in China, although the idea is that you must pay to see censored content it doesn't necessarily prevent people from accessing uncensored content. Governmental interference is a changing subject as the digital world is constantly shifting, as with the introduction of AI.
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