There's always an ON/OFF switch...somewhere

A few days ago, on January 27, I put this up as my facebook status:

"It's amazing how sometimes human beings seem so arrogant...believing they are untouchable, that the freedom and power they have will always be there...when all it takes is for someone to simply hit the OFF switch."


It was a general comment, from which some of my friends immediately thought of politicians or corporate figures in positions of power. Other comments even viewed it on a spiritual/religious nature. Let me tell you where the idea for that statement actually came from.

It was after reading an article in the NST titled "Bloggers against move to control online content" which appeared on January 26. Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against bloggers or the individuals mentioned in the article.

What the article did was remind me of the all too-familiar perception that the Internet is a borderless, all powerful entity that should not and could not be controlled, curtailed or restricted in any way. "Leave it to its own devices, and it shall regulate itself" is another common mantra. Some people, I think, believe that the Internet is eternal (i.e. will last forever). Sounds a little blasphemous don't you think?

My intention was to remind people that all it took was for someone to flick the master switch off. How difficult could that be? As the case in Egypt showed, not that difficult after all. And what would be the outcome if this happened on a bigger scale? What if it was a global shutdown (intentionally or accidental)? Doomsday-like?

Did you know that in the US, the Protecting Cyberspace as a National Asset Act gives the president an Internet "kill switch"? Is that the next "weapon of mass destruction"? And if the US has that capability...will others strive for it as well?

Discussion on this subject is already one of the top topics on the popular reddit, with more than 2,000 comments or likes the last time I checked.

So you see, it's entirely plausible for someone to control/disrupt the Internet. In fact, it's practically guaranteed to happen again. The question is, are we ready for it when it does?