Knowtex

Imagine a democracy where the law demands the transportation department install cameras everywhere and keeps a record of activities for one year “just in case.” This includes the places people visited, how they went, the people they met, and what was exchanged or shared.

It's fashionable to hold up the Internet as the road to democracy and liberty in countries like Iran, but it can also be a very effective tool for quashing freedom. Evgeny Morozov on the myth of the techno-utopia.

The way the French government handles the booming French digital revolution is quite unique. But the Google tax is just the tip of the iceberg, and is part of a very frightening story, at least for a country that thinks of itself as the inventor of modern democracy.