Geeks are the New Guardians of Our Civil Liberties | MIT Technology Review

Lead paragraph from a timely snapshot

"A decade-plus of anthropological fieldwork among hackers and like-minded geeks has led me to the firm conviction that these people are building one of the most vibrant civil liberties movements we’ve ever seen. It is a culture committed to freeing information, insisting on privacy, and fighting censorship, which in turn propels wide-ranging political activity. In the last year alone, hackers have been behind some of the most powerful political currents out there."

From a "Why it matters" sidebar:

"Various governments have proposed laws that would curtail the openness and freedom of the Internet. Without a vocal opposition, those laws likely would have passed."

Geeks are the New Guardians of Our Civil Liberties | MIT Technology Review