213 Quotes by Rebecca MacKinnon

Microsoft, Yahoo and others are helping to institutionalize and legitimize the integration of censorship into the global IT business model.

The way I think liberties get eroded is not that all of a sudden you become an Orwellian state, but gradually it becomes harder for people with unpopular views to speak out without being in danger, be it from the state or just from the majority of the people who don't like them.

Governance is a way of organizing, amplifying, and constraining power.

It would be normal for anybody running a high-profile, politically controversial operation in China to anticipate worst-case scenario, and to do everything possible to guard against them.

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

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.

Each and every one of us has a vital part to play in building the kind of world in which government and technology serve the world’s people and not the other way around.

We have to start thinking of ourselves as citizens of the Internet, not just passive users. I don't see how we can bring about change in our digital lives if we don't take responsibility.

Facebook has conquered much of the world.