98 Rebecca MacKinnon Quotes for You to Enjoy

Rebecca MacKinnon

American Journalist

Born: Sep 16, 1969

China Government Internet People Rights World

Related authors: Ambrose Bierce Dave Barry Erma Bombeck Hunter S. Thompson Mignon McLaughlin Walter Cronkite William F. Buckley, Jr. William Lloyd Garrison

There is respect for law, and then there is complicity in lawlessness. Rebecca MacKinnon

Respect Law Complicity Lawlessness Then

Facebook is not a physical country, but with 900 million users, its 'population' comes third after China and India. It may not be able to tax or jail its inhabitants, but its executives, programmers, and engineers do exercise a form of governance over people's online activities and identities. Rebecca MacKinnon

Facebook People Country India Physical Able Online Over Identities Executives Exercise Governance May Jail Tax Form After China China And India Inhabitants Engineers Users Population Activities Million Third Programmers

Trade shows such as the wire tappers' ball are highly secretive and ban journalists from attending. None of the U.S. agencies that attended the wire tappers' ball - including the FBI, the Secret Service, and every branch of the military - were willing to comment when a reporter queried them about their attendance. Rebecca MacKinnon

Service Military Every Secret Secretive Willing About Wire Attendance Attended Attending Highly Journalists Trade Ball None Were Ban Comment Branch Reporter Them Agencies Shows Including

As a citizen of a community, if you never vote or engage, don't be surprised when the outcome doesn't serve your interests; you've never done anything to push things in the right direction. Rebecca MacKinnon

You Vote Citizen Community Outcome Direction Push Never Surprised Done Anything Interests Engage Your Serve Right Things Right Direction

The Chinese government clearly does pay attention to public opinion expressed on the Internet - the extent to which they choose to adapt their practices based on it, or ignore it, seems to vary. Rebecca MacKinnon

Government Internet Pay Pay Attention Seems Vary Attention Clearly Practices Opinion Does Which Chinese Public Chinese Government Ignore Choose Public Opinion Expressed Based Extent Adapt

One thing is very clear from the chatter I see on Chinese blogs, and also from just what people in China tell me, is that Google is much more popular among China's Internet users than the United States. Rebecca MacKinnon

Me People Internet Google States Tell One Thing See More Chatter Clear Also Blogs Very Than Just China Chinese Much Users Popular United United States Among Thing

The relationship between citizens and government is increasingly mediated through the Internet. Rebecca MacKinnon

Government Relationship Internet Increasingly Citizens Through Between

The sovereigns of the Internet are acting like they have a divine right to govern. Rebecca MacKinnon

Internet Divine Like Govern Acting Right

China's censorship and propaganda systems may be complex and multilayered, but they are obviously not well coordinated. Rebecca MacKinnon

Censorship Complex Systems Propaganda Obviously Well May China Coordinated

Almost every week, there are stories in the press or on Chinese social media about what even the official Chinese media call 'hot online topics:' stories about how people in a particular village or town used Weibo to expose malfeasance by local or regional authorities. Rebecca MacKinnon

People Social Media Every Local Press Topics About Online Week Hot Almost Particular Town Call How Authorities Official Stories Chinese Regional Social Used Expose Even Village Media

Thanks to the Internet in general and social media in particular, the Chinese people now have a mechanism to hold authorities accountable for wrongdoing - at least sometimes - without any actual political or legal reforms having taken place. Major political power struggles and scandals are no longer kept within elite circles. Rebecca MacKinnon

Legal People Sometimes Political Political Power Social Media Internet Power Thanks Circles Scandals General Having Struggles Taken Longer Major Particular Wrongdoing Within Without Least Accountable Authorities Reforms Any Hold Place Chinese Social Chinese People Mechanism Media Now Actual Elite Kept

The U.S. relationship with Bahrain is obviously more complicated than with Syria and Iran. Rebecca MacKinnon

Relationship Complicated Syria More Bahrain Obviously Iran Than

It's time to take decisive action to stop American and other multinationals from aiding and abetting the wrong side in the global digital arms race. Rebecca MacKinnon

Time Digital Action Other Side Take Wrong Wrong Side Global Arms Arms Race American Stop Decisive Decisive Action Race Multinational

The 'Shawshank Redemption' has nothing to do with China, but that hasn't kept social media censors from blocking the movie's title from searches on the country's most popular Twitter-like microblogging service, Weibo. Rebecca MacKinnon

Service Social Media Country Nothing Most Redemption Blocking Movie China Title Social Popular Searches Media Kept

Whether or not the U.S. government funds circumvention tools, or who exactly it funds and with what amount, it is clear that Internet users in China and elsewhere are seeking out and creating their own ad hoc solutions to access the uncensored global Internet. Rebecca MacKinnon

For centuries, the Yangtze River - the longest in Asia - has played an important role in China's history, culture, and economy. The Yangtze is as quintessentially Chinese as the Nile is Egyptian or the Rhine is German. Many businesses use its name. Rebecca MacKinnon

Like it or not, Google and the Chinese government are stuck in a tense, long-term relationship, and can look forward to more high-stakes shadow-boxing in the netherworld of the world's most elaborate system of censorship. Rebecca MacKinnon

Government Relationship World Censorship Google System More Stuck Tense Long-Term Like Look Most Elaborate Chinese Chinese Government Forward

President Barack Obama's administration sometimes finds itself at odds with members of Congress who oppose nearly everything the United Nations does on principle. Rebecca MacKinnon

Sometimes Oppose Odds Congress United Nations President Everything Members Obama Administration Finds Principle Does Itself Nations Barack Who United Nearly

A number of countries, including Russia and China, have put forward proposals to regulate aspects of the Internet like 'crime' and 'security' that are currently unregulated at the global level due to lack of international consensus over what those terms actually mean or over how to balance enforcement with the protection of citizens' rights. Rebecca MacKinnon

Rights Balance Protection Internet Crime Those Security Citizens Russia Proposals Put Countries Over Like Global Terms How Due Lack Currently China Mean Enforcement Aspects Regulate Forward International Including Actually Level Consensus Number

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