Google Execs Pen ‘Future of Internet Freedom’ Op-Ed

NEW YORK— Eric E. Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, and Jared Cohen, the director of Google Ideas, contributed an op-ed piece to the NY Times about (and titled) “The Future of Internet Freedom,” detailing technological means to overcome harsh online censorship in repressive communities.  

The duo asserts that the next decade will see a five-billion person strong increase in Internet users across the world, primarily in places like Russia, Vietnam, Pakistan and Iran where web access is heavily censored, “places where clicking on an objectionable article can get your entire extended family thrown in prison, or worse,” they write.

The piece then parses specific means of repression — “deep packet inspection” hardware, distributed-denial-of-service attacks, wholesale server slow-downs and others, used by authorities to prevent individuals from accessing certain information, whether it be porn or anti-government tracts.

“And while the technologies of repression are a multibillion-dollar industry, the tools to measure and assess digital repression get only a few million dollars in government and private funding,” they explain. “Private and academic centers like the Citizen Lab in Toronto are building detection tools, but we are still in the early days of mapping the reach of digital censorship.”

Schmidt and Cohen offer several means to combat repression and believe that, with the right public and private investments, a positive, global difference could be made.

“Much of the fight against censorship has been led by the activists of the Internet freedom movement,” the piece continues. “We can join this open source community, whether we are policy makers, corporations or individuals. Money, coding skills or government grants can all make a difference.

“Given the energies and opportunities out there, it’s possible to end repressive Internet censorship within a decade. If we want the next generation of users to be free, we don’t see any other option.”

To read the complete op-ed on N.Y. Times.com, click here.

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

JuicyAds Wins Trademark Infringement Case Against Fraudulent Domain

JuicyAds has won its World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) case against a website using a similar domain to impersonate the company's site and defraud customers.

Anissa Kate, Jordan Starr Top AEBN for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top-selling stars for the second quarter of 2025, with Anissa Kate landing atop the leaderboard for straight theaters and Jordan Starr heading up the gay rankings.

AEBN Reveals Eva Maxim as Top Trans Star for Q2 of 2025

AEBN has published its top trans stars list for the second quarter of 2025, with Eva Maxim landing atop the leaderboard.

France Reinstates Age Verification Rule for EU Sites

France’s highest court, the Council of State, on Tuesday reinstated age verification rules for EU-based sites under the country’s Security and Regulation of the Digital Space (SREN) law, ruling in favor of the French government and against Hammy Media.

Whisper Fans Joins Pineapple Support as Supporter-Level Sponsor

Whisper Fans has joined the ranks of over 70 adult businesses and organizations committing funds and resources to Pineapple Support.

Utherverse Launches 'Red Light Center' Virtual World

Virtual reality and metaverse technology company Utherverse has launched its new virtual world, RedLightCenter.io.

European Commission Approves AV Guidelines, Unveils Prototype App

The European Commission on Monday released its final, approved guidelines for protecting minors online under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) and made public a “white label” age verification app intended to help sites and platforms comply with age verification rules under the DSA.

Show More