(photo credit: Tim Yang)

It turns out the Internet is about way more than pictures of cats and x-rated websites.

• It’s safe to say that the Internet surprised us all with the way it changed the world. It certainly surprised the despotic leaders that have been threatened and overthrown by citizens organizing themselves through Twitter and Facebook.
• The Ford Foundation recently made a plea to the philanthropy community (at the Wired for Change conference) to recognize that the Internet is now an essential tool for empowering people and spreading democracy throughout the world.
• The Foundation hopes that other organizations will increase funding and grantmaking for initiatives that protect online freedom of speech.

Facts & Figures

Internet freedom should not be taken for granted:

• Web access was completely cut off for five days during the protests that eventually overthrew the Egyptian government
• Access is limited and online content is censored for Internet users in China and Saudi Arabia
• Even in the United States, there are fierce battles in Washington about “net neutrality,” or whether Internet providers can determine the amount of access each user has based on how much they pay or use

Best Quote

“We use the Internet and mobile technology to build society, and we take it for granted that the open Internet will always be in place.” – Brett Solomon, Executive Director of Access

What do you think?

Could the massive political upheavals in the Middle East have happened without the Internet? What can you do to support something like Internet freedom?

Get to it!

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Tags: Ford Foundation, freedom, internet