The Right to Technology

In the wake of recent elections, reports are emerging that mobile phone networks and access to various websites are being restricted in Iran. If you trust the reports, the government rigged the re-election of the president, including blocking many of the oppositions means of communication, and has shut down many venues that young people are using to foster their protests.

This raises an interesting question with respect to the rights one has to use various pieces of technology and methods of transfer of information. As a general rule, Americans have carte blanche when it comes to the Internet and it's something we probably take for granted. We do have laws that prevent certain uses (e.g. gambling, child pornography) but as far as my worker bee knowledge is concerned, we're not really blocked from anything. We expect to be able to do what we want, when we want and our nation's president even used it to help get elected.

The citizens of some other countries do not share the same freedoms. There are countless stories about China, Saudia Arabia and others blocking sites with various content; it's something I find difficult to imagine. Do we, as humans, have a right to technology or do governments know what they're doing by keeping us from harming ourselves? Karl Marx would probably argue that as long as we're busy tweeting we won't realize it as a method of distracting us from the real problems in our society. I am likely to argue that as long as it's not a public safety or national security risk, more is better... but I'm guessing those are the reasons given by the governments of these countries.