The Year Of E-Protests
     Some of this year's major world events have ties to online protests. Just before the U.N.-sponsored referendum in August letting East Timor vote for independence from Indonesia, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jose Ramos Horta warned of a multinational effort to stymie Indonesia's computer systems if the country restricted voting.
     This wouldn't be the first time cybercitizens banded to fight against Indonesia's government. James Dempsey, senior staff attorney for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the protests against Indonesia's former President Suharto last year, protests that led to his ouster, may have been one of the first examples of online activism sparking demonstrations in the streets.
     "In Indonesia, the Internet played a very important role in the uprising that occurred there against Suharto," he said. "The Suharto opponents organized and communicated via the Internet very effectively."
     In 1999, the Internet and e-mail became a catalyst for insurgency against Cambodian dictator Hun Sen, for protests against China's ban on the spiritual group Falun Dafa, and for spreading information blocked by governments during the conflict in the Balkans.
     During the NATO bombings, Father Sava Janjic, a Serbian Orthodox monk, used e-mail and real-time chat to spread news from southwestern Kosovo after a media block made it difficult for journalists to disseminate information. Janjic was considered instrumental by information-starved journalists, politicians and diplomats who needed news updates. Serbs also turned to e-mail and the Web as a source of information during government-imposed media gags. Previously, the Internet had been used to provide information to the West on Russian anti-communist activity and during the protests in Tianamen Square.
     More recently, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a group pushing for autonomy within Sri Lanka, made use of technology to spread news about their recent victories against the Sri Lankan military. And labor movements in Europe have used the Net for protest, highlighting local disputes internationally.

Techno Issues Find Home On Net
     The Internet is also used abroad as a force for change on technology-related issues. The U.K.-based Cyber-Rights And Cyber-Liberties group launched online protests against part of Britain's e-commerce plan that included controversial measures for the use of government key-escrow for encryption software. By the time the government published its Electronic Communications Bill in November, the controversial measure had been dropped. Brian Gladman, a technology policy advocate for the group, credits online protests for helping shape the government's policy.
     "Two or three years ago, people could not have made that sort of input," he said.
     In Bulgaria, a chapter of the Internet Society, a worldwide group that advocates on Net issues, protested the proposed licensing of Internet service providers in Bulgaria. Privacy advocates worried that the licensing would allow authorities to easily obtain users passwords and other information. After an 11-month online campaign by Net groups, the government decided to drop the requirement.
     "Our success wouldn't have been possible without the help of thousands of Internauts, who kept sending e-mails to the President, the Prime Minister, and to the newspapers," Veni Markovski, chairman of Bulgaria's Internet Society, wrote in an e-mail.

Think Globally, Act Locally
     Although these Internet protests have been successful, James Johnson, deputy director of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission, points out that the Internet isn't the great equalizer between governments and people. The global gap between the information haves and have nots still determines whose voice gets heard loudest, even when the protest is digitally driven.
     "One of the things that shapes this phenomenon is who has access to the Internet," he said. "Poor people of the world still don't have access."
     But CDT's Dempsey said the Internet has indeed given global groups new voice and that human rights advocates around the world have long embraced the Internet for protests. The protests in Seattle were a good example of numerous groups — from human rights organizations to labor and environmental movements — joining forces to give their issues international attention.
     "The Internet is not a substitute for local activism but it can help in mobilizing international condemnation," he said.
     Taking the the example of the protests in Seattle, he said, an online movement can't expect to simply launch a Web site, put out a few e-mails and change policy. Like the throngs of protesters that came to Seattle, they have to take to the streets.
     "The most successful online protests are those that effectively mobilize people offline," he said.
- by Caroline Broder