The document discusses how social media and the internet have enabled protests and revolutions around the world. It describes several instances where individuals' deaths were captured on video and spread online, galvanizing movements in Tunisia, Iran, London, and the US. It also discusses instances where governments have shut down internet access in an attempt to suppress protests, like in Egypt and at BART stations in San Francisco, but this tended to further energize protesters. The document argues that access to communication tools is important for protecting free speech and the ability to organize.

1. Last
December,
the
Tunisian
revolu5on
started
when
a
frustrated
fruit
vendor
set
himself
on
fire.
That
man,
Mohamed
Bouazii,
was
only
26.
He
was
the
sole
earner
for
his
8
family
members
-­‐-­‐
and
word
about
his
death
spread
quickly
across
the
web
-­‐-­‐
though
the
implica5ons
of
his
act
wouldn’t
be
realized
un5l
much,
much
later.
1

2. Back
in
2009,
Neda
Agha
Soltan
was
shot
and
killed
during
the
Iranian
Elec5on
protests.
Her
death
was
captured
on
video
and
broadcast
across
the
web,
through
LiveStream,
YouTube
and
Vimeo.
It
was
later
described
as
“probably
the
most
widely
witnessed
death
in
human
history.”
Like
Mohamed,
Neda
was
26,
and
frustrated.
She
was
from
a
middle
class
family
-­‐-­‐
while
he
was
from
a
lower
class
family.
In
life
both
were
powerless
indivisuals.
In
death
they
became
the
symbols
that
united
their
countries.
2

3. The
riots
in
London
weren’t
that
different.
A
man
was
killed
by
the
police,
which
resulted
in
widespread
outrage,
communicated
through
the
web
and
mobile
devices.
3

4. That
man’s
name
is
Mark
Duggan.
4

5. The
riots
lasted
6
days,
during
which
one
story
in
par5cular
led
me
to
raise
a
concerned
eyebrow
to
the
issue
of
free
speech,
human
rights
and
the
web.
5

6. You
see,
in
hopes
of
ending
the
days
long
riots,
bri5sh
lawmakers
considered
shuYng
down
Facebook,
Twi[er
and
Blackberry
Messenger,
which
were
the
primary
communica5ons
tools
for
rioters.
6

7. This
is
par5cularly
alarming
because
the
UK’s
speech
laws
are
similar
to
our
First
Amendment.
So
if
the
Bri5sh
government
can
discuss
shuYng
off
the
internet
so
can
ours.
Luckily,
the
Bri5sh
government
made
the
right
choice
and
kept
the
connec5on
switched
on.
7

8. When
this
kind
of
thing
happens,
as
it
did
in
London,
Mexico,
Egypt,
Libya
and
elsewhere,
we
as
Americans
must
take
no5ce.
Because
as
soon
as
we
take
speech
for
granted,
we’ve
eroded
our
right
to
it.
And
that’s
exactly
what
happened
just
this
summer.
8

9. In
July
San
Francisco
transit
police
shot
and
killed
this
man,
45
year
old
Charles
Hill.
Ader
Hil’s
death
protests
organized
by
the
now
infamous
hack5vist
group
Anonymous
lasted
for
5
days.
9

10. The
most
chao5c
moment
of
those
protests
came
when
a
group
of
100
protestors
tried
to
stop
a
commuter
train
from
leaving
the
sta5on.
BART
authori5es,
aware
that
the
internet
inside
the
BART
subway
system
was
being
used
to
coordinate
the
protests,
began
mulling
whether
or
not
to
shut
the
system
down.
Not
the
trains,
the
internet.
Unfortunately,
BART
authori5es
did
temporarily
shut
down
internet
service.
BART
thought
they
were
doing
the
right
thing,
that
they
were
protec5ng
lives
by
breaking
up
the
protests
–
but
ul5mately
their
decision
limited
the
protesters’
ability
to
communicate,
a
fact
that
some
say
makes
that
choice
uncons5tu5onal
and
illegal.
10

11. What
is
most
eye-­‐opening
about
the
BART
protests
is
that
they
used
the
same
tac5c
as
ousted
Egyp5an
president
Hasni
Mubarek
ader
thousands
of
Egyp5ans
peacefully
converged
on
Tahrir
Square
just
months
prior.
11

12. As
Mubarak
learned,
turning
off
the
internet
only
served
to
bolster
the
movement
he
was
trying
to
suppress.
12

13. Oden
in
these
situa5ons,
it
only
takes
one
incident
to
transform
a
protest
into
a
full
blown
revolu5on.
Something
as
common
as
death,
as
we
saw
with
Neda,
Mohamed,
James
and
Charles
is
proof
that
very
li[le
separates
one
event
from
the
other.
As
the
saying
goes,
some
fight
with
guns,
others
fight
with
ideas.
13

14. And
to
spread
their
ideas,
these
willful
individuals
are
increasingly
turning
to
the
social
tools.
When
those
get
shut
down,
they
use
their
mobiles.
When
their
mobiles
no
longer
work,
they
go
back
to
the
original
medium
–
physical
protest.
14

15. Occupy
Wall
Street
exemplifies
this
point.
What
started
as
a
series
of
denial
of
service
a[acks
on
governmental
and
media
web
sites
and
Twi[er
accounts
soon
transferred
to
the
streets
of
some
30
American
ci5es.
Though
some
claim
this
movement
is
without
formal
demands,
the
99%,
who
include
people
like
this,
are
telling
the
world
they’re
5red
of
being
bystanders
in
their
own
lives,
of
being
slaves
to
their
debt,
15

16. …of
not
having
enough
money
to
see
a
doctor.
“I’m
18”
this
college
freshman
writes”…I
haven’t
been
to
the
doctor
since
I
was
14.
I
don’t
know
what
we’re
going
to
do
when
the
money
is
gone.”
16

17. Another
writes,
“I
have
a
masters
degree
and
a
full
5me
job
in
my
field,
and
I
have
started
selling
my
body
to
pay
off
the
debt.
I
am
the
99%.”
17

18. These
are
the
people
who
support
Occupy
Wall
Street.
On
Saturday
700
of
them
were
arrested
while
trying
to
march
across
the
Brooklyn
Bridge,
following
two
weeks
of
protests
on
Wall
Street
-­‐-­‐
again
organized
by
Anonymous,
just
blocks
from
where
we
sit
today.
The
99%
are
all
around
us,
they’re
in
this
room
right
now.
18

19. So
what
can
we
as
marketers
take
away
from
understanding
the
cross-­‐sec5on
of
Free
Speech,
Human
Rights
and
the
Web?
Do
we
as
communicators
have
a
role
in
protec5ng
people’s
right
to
free
speech,
and
what
are
the
consequences
if
we
don’t?
How
should
tech
companies
respond
when
governments
require
them
to
shut
down
the
internet?
How
do
we,
as
an
industry,
protect
the
right
to
speech
that
we
rely
on
to
do
our
jobs?
As
web
communica5ons
companies
are
dragged
into
these
ba[les,
it’s
more
important
than
ever
for
them
to
understand
how
to
navigate
these
troubled
waters;
we
need
to
figure
out
how
to
get
ahead
of
the
problem,
and
see
it
not
as
a
risk
to
our
brands,
but
an
opportunity
to
show
our
customers
that
the
communica5ons
industry
supports
their
rights.
Our
rights.
19

20. At
the
end
of
the
month,
Facebook,
Google,
Yahoo!,
SKYPE,
Mozilla,
AT&T
and
a
great
number
of
the
world’s
leaders
in
tech
ac5vism,
human
rights,
policy
and
development
are
converging
on
Silicon
Valley
to
discuss
these
very
topics.
The
Silicon
Valley
Human
Rights
Conference
will
be
a[ended
by
progressive
global
brands
and
individuals
like
Gap,
Twi[er,
The
New
York
Times,
Robert
Scoble,
Craig
Newmark,
Assistant
Secretary
of
State
Michael
Posner
and
many
more.
This
event
is
meant
to
help
tech
companies
understand
how
to
approach
these
sensi5ve
topics,
while
maintaining
the
fundamental
human
rights
we
as
Americans
are
bound
to
protect.
20

21. You
can
learn
more
about
the
conference
at
rightscon.org.
21

22. If
the
events
of
the
last
year
have
taught
me
anything,
it’s
that
the
process
of
social
change
starts
only
when
people
speak
freely.
In
the
US
we
have
it
pre[y
good,
and
haven’t
needed
to
unite
on
a
na5onal
level
for
a
long
5me.
I
believe
that
what
we’re
seeing
today
is
not
some
kind
of
anarchist
movement,
rather
it’s
an
act
of
restlessness
by
a
society
that
hasn’t
cleared
its
throat
since
the
60s,
when
the
previous
genera5on
banded
together
to
call
for
change.
Today
Americans
are
figh5ng
for
their
right
to
speak,
at
a
5me
when
the
web
is
opening
up
a
new
world
of
informa5on
and
communica5ons
technologies.
The
last
ques5on
I’ll
pose
for
you
today
then
is,
how
will
we,
as
communicators
for
hire,
respond?
Thank
you
and
good
adernoon.
22