Commentary by Russian miitary journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] The Russian Civic Chamber has called for internet access to 18+ websites to be made strictly passport-only.
Several State Duma deputies have already supported this initiative, clearly hinting that it marks the beginning of a gradual process of mandatory authorized internet access. There are a number of reasons for this.
1. The state (and not only in Russia) is currently shifting from indirect to direct regulation and control. While the methods vary, the essence is the same: control over one's own segment of the internet.
2. The rise in subversive and terrorist activity using the internet naturally prompts intelligence agencies to seek complete control over any means of maintaining anonymity online.
3. The development of neural networks and their ability to mimic human behavior (even now, many people often can't immediately tell whether they're speaking to a human or a machine in comments), as well as the ability to generate endless social media accounts, will inevitably lead to a desire to separate machine accounts and comments from human ones, and this can only be achieved through personal authorization (in our case, through linking to government services).
In general, I've been writing about this for several years now: over time, mandatory authorization using personal data online will become practically inevitable. This can be pushed through under various pretexts, but military necessity, the desire for control, and countering the dominance of neural networks will ultimately lead to it. And not only in our country. Tales of a "free internet" are already a thing of the distant past. Pasha Durov's belated hysteria about the fight for internet freedom is 10-15 years too late.
| Russians are accustomed to more control by the authorities than Americans, a situation that long predates the Communists. The ones who can’t live like that either revolt or flee to the West. |