Internet Freedom After the Invasion of Ukraine

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, governments and tech companies have taken swift action to limit the flow of propaganda out of Russia, and Russia has in turn taken draconian measures to limit the flow of information into Russia, including banning some Western social media platforms, crushing what remained of independent journalism in the country and cracking down on free expression generally.

How do these events fit in the broader scheme of things? The trajectory for global internet freedom and digital rights, just like the trajectory for democracy generally, has been going in the wrong direction for years. What do governments, organizations and the community of individuals concerned with these issues need to do to try to change that trajectory, and to support those working turn the tide?

To answer these questions and more, I invited three experts to join me for this week’s podcast

• Rebecca MacKinnon, Vice President for Global Advocacy at the Wikimedia Foundation
• Allie Funk, Senior Research Analyst for Technology and Democracy at Freedom House
• Justin Sherman, a Fellow at the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at The Atlantic Council