"For years, Russia’s internet had been relatively open for a country run by an authoritarian regime. There was surveillance, sure, but nothing on the scale of China’s Great Firewall. But since the poisoning of Navalny, and Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a digital iron curtain has fallen in Russia. It’s getting harder for news from the West, much less of the war, to get through. Now, the Kremlin is accelerating plans to build its own walled-off “sovereign” internet, something Iran, Cambodia and Brazil are trying themselves. China is pushing for a new protocol to reshape how the net works altogether.

All this means that the internet – that great global connector invented by US researchers 40-odd years ago – is splintering. And if it frays enough, experts warn, it may be impossible to put back together again.

So, is there even one internet any more? How might it splinter? And what happens if it does?" #Splinternet #Internet #GreatFirewallOfChina #censorship #authoritarianism #China #Russia #WalledOffWeb #InternetFreedom #WebFreedom #tech #technology #explainer

Splinternet explainer: How do countries restrict web freedom? https://www.smh.com.au/technology/the-secret-service-agents-had-a-message-take-down-the-app-or-go-to-jail-how-is-the-internet-splintering-20230327-p5cvl2.html