Rebecca MacKinnon quotes

Amazon webhosting dropped Wikileaks as a customer after receiving a complaint from U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, despite the fact that Wikileaks had not been charged, let alone convicted, of any crime. (Rebecca MacKinnon)

Facebook and Google are battling over who will be our gateway to the rest of the Internet through 'like' buttons and universal logins - giving them huge power over our online identities and activities.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Citizens' rights cannot be protected if their digital activities are governed and policed by opaque and publicly unaccountable corporate mechanisms.

Rebecca MacKinnon

If multi-stakeholder Internet governance is to survive an endless series of challenges, its champions must commit to serving the interests and protecting the rights of all Internet users around the world, particularly those in developing countries where Internet use is growing fastest.

Rebecca MacKinnon

I study how governments seek to stifle and control online dissent.

Rebecca MacKinnon

The Internet is an empowering force for people who are protesting against the abuse of power.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Increasingly, people have very little tolerance for anything that smacks of propaganda.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Yahoo! had a choice. It chose to provide an e-mail service hosted on servers based inside China, making itself subject to Chinese legal jurisdiction. It didn't have to do that. It could have provided a service hosted offshore only.

Rebecca MacKinnon

The Patriot Act, passed overwhelmingly but hastily after 9/11, allows the FBI to obtain telecommunication, financial, and credit records without a court order.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Shibuya is a trendy part of Tokyo where young people come to meet and have a good time.

Rebecca MacKinnon

Each of us has a vital role to play in building a world in which the government and technology serve the world's people and not the other way around. (Rebecca MacKinnon)

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

Rebecca MacKinnon

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.

Rebecca MacKinnon