The virtual world is a 'public square' much more vast than Tiananmen Square. And you can't send in the tanks to crush the netizens.
Jared CohenRead
Technology is a tool, and it's a platform. Nobody gets arrested for being a blogger; people get arrested for dissent. Nobody gets arrested for putting information about themselves online; they get arrested for being an activist. I'm a strong believer in the fact that you should not blame the tools; you should blame the circumstances.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Technology is neutral; it's how it's used that determines its impact on society.
In this quote, Jared Cohen emphasizes that technology itself is merely a tool or platform without inherent moral value. He argues that people are not penalized for the use of technology for benign purposes like blogging or sharing personal information, but rather face consequences when they use it to challenge authority or advocate for change, highlighting the importance of context and intention behind the use of technology in society.
Themes
TechnologyToolsSocietyActivismCircumstances
In practice
Example use cases
In a debate about online censorship, one might quote Cohen to highlight the distinction between the medium and the message.
More from Jared Cohen
All quotes →Name any issue in the world, I can tell you how technology is intertwined with it. I can tell you how technology will make it better. How it can make it worse. It needs to be part of everything that we do, whether you are a government or a company or a citizen.
Jared CohenRead
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