The fiction of a free internet

Click here to access article by Musab Younis from Ceasefire (UK). 

Musab Younis argues that our perception of the "battle for the internet" is skewed by our acceptance of a hierarchical network run in the interests of advertisers, whose ability to codify, individuate and manipulate large populations is being increased by the spread of social media. 

The idea of an internet was first inspired by the concerns of US military regarding communication problems after a nuclear attack. It was quickly adapted by computer nerds into civilian use--but this was an unintended consequence of its development. Since then government and their ruling operatives have been concerned that its use might not always serve the interests of the One Percent. See this, this, and this. They now are using it to keep activists under surveillance. See this, this, and this. Also, commercial interests of the One Percent have gradually inserted profit oriented features into the internet in order to serve their needs. See this. The above article expands on this theme and focuses on commercial interests taking over social media.