The internet originally began as an attempt to connect people with each other. A network independent of geographical boundaries, designed to bring us closer together, all wiser. Although we may not always realize it yet, the internet is one of the greatest inventions that have shaped our world. It stands alongside revolutionary innovations such as the toilet, still the best medical invention of the past 200 years. And also electricity, which fundamentally changed our lives, from lighting to computers.
But something strange is happening with the internet, and not in a good way. I am not talking about countries that consider information freedom a risk and therefore censor the internet. I am talking about the internet as it seems to exist in our so-called free, western world.
Because the internet is no longer as free as it used to be. And it starts with our gateway to the internet: the browser. Something we used not to think about, but now a powerful tool that controls our online experience and sometimes forces us in a certain direction.
What we see online, what we can find, and where we are directed, is increasingly out of our hands. More and more, this is determined by the big companies behind the browsers and search engines we rely on. Think of Edge, Chrome, or Firefox on Windows computers or laptops. Or Safari and Chrome on smartphones and tablets. Even more, most people use an iPhone or an Android device, with Safari or Chrome as the default browser. Desktops and laptops, much freer and more powerful, are already falling behind.
Although it seems you are free to choose, the majority of people stick to whatever comes pre-installed on their device. And even if you consciously install another browser, Apple and Alphabet, with their closed ecosystems, often limit what you can do with it. The device you bought increasingly seems less your property and more a privilege they allow you to use. Meta is even worse.
This situation is getting out of hand. While technology advances every day, we are increasingly restricted in what we can do. Instead of more freedom, we face more and more limitations. Not so much to protect us, but mainly to serve commercial and political interests.
Freedom is a great good, just like privacy. Both offline and online. It is worrying and unacceptable if that freedom threatens to disappear into the hands of a handful of monopolies, often with interests far beyond our sphere of influence. Parties from other countries, with their own agendas, then decide what we may and can do on the internet.
The internet is one of humanity's most impactful inventions. But that freedom is not a given. We must keep fighting for the original ideal: an open and honest internet. Because right now, that freedom is under threat and being turned into something undesirable. That we cannot and must not accept.