That's why I think the Tor project is so important.
It gives people within those cultures an ability to access information they're not supposed to be able to, while also helping protect them from those in power.
Yes - I think it'd be great if American companies didn't build the censorship or surveillance infrastructure for these countries and I think it's wrong that American companies enable these governments to do this to their own people, but at least through Tor we can side step the cultural imperialism argument.
Only those who want it will seek it out.
Edit: If you're interested in running a non-exit relay, check out this guide I made - it's pretty easy to do (plus you get a cool shirt after 60 days).
American companies also support their own government's efforts to imprison people for visiting the wrong websites (gambling, piracy, child porn, etc). Isn't it a bit arbitrary to accept that in America but not other countries? You may think free political speech is important, but it can cost a lot of lives if it leads to a civil war or widespread riots. Not all countries are stable enough to cope with those risks.
It gives people within those cultures an ability to access information they're not supposed to be able to, while also helping protect them from those in power.
Yes - I think it'd be great if American companies didn't build the censorship or surveillance infrastructure for these countries and I think it's wrong that American companies enable these governments to do this to their own people, but at least through Tor we can side step the cultural imperialism argument.
Only those who want it will seek it out.
Edit: If you're interested in running a non-exit relay, check out this guide I made - it's pretty easy to do (plus you get a cool shirt after 60 days).
https://tor.stackexchange.com/questions/6567/how-do-i-manual...