Скачать или смотреть UK & US: Elite Power, Child Safety, and the Rise of Digital Authoritarianism

UK's Online Safety Bill:
Shifts from free expression to a default of restriction.
Imposes a duty of care on platforms to police user speech.
Vague definitions of harm grant excessive power to the state.
Threatens confidential journalism and democratic discourse.
Creates a chilling effect, disproportionately harming marginalized groups.
US Encryption Contradiction:
Domestic law enforcement demands backdoors, citing the going dark problem.
The State Department funds encryption tools to protect dissidents abroad.
This hypocrisy creates a global vulnerability; a US backdoor endangers everyone.
Conclusion - Elite Theory:
These surveillance policies advance despite public opposition.
Power is concentrated in a small group of elites whose consensus dictates outcomes.

Argues that Western democracies are leveraging child safety as a pretext to aggressively expand surveillance capabilities and control over information flows, mirroring mechanisms used in autocracies. The UK's Online Safety Bill exemplifies this by overturning the principle of free expression, establishing a default of restriction, and imposing duties of care on platforms to police speech. This bill is criticized for its vague definitions of harm, granting vast powers to the Secretary of State, and failing to protect confidential journalistic material or broad democratic discourse, leading to a chilling effect and disproportionately impacting marginalized groups and support communities. Simultaneously, the US government exhibits a fundamental contradiction regarding encryption: domestic law enforcement demands decryption access due to the going dark problem, while the State Department funds and promotes encryption tools globally to protect dissidents in authoritarian regimes. This tension creates a global vulnerability, as US-mandated backdoors could compromise secure communication for dissidents worldwide, especially as surveillance technology becomes commercialized and widely accessible. The video concludes that these policies advance despite civil liberties concerns and public outcry because elite theory suggests power is concentrated in a small group of elites whose consensus determines major political outcomes, regardless of broad public opinion.