From Motherboard:
Screenshot of BRICS cable network map, via
After discovering that the US government has been invading the privacy of not just Americans, but also Brazilians, Brazil is showing its teeth. The country responded to the spying revelations by declaring it'll just have to create its own internet, and slap a big sign on it that says "United States Not Welcome."
At least, that's the version of the story that's been making the rounds. In reality, although Brazil President Dilma Rousseff is none too happy with the NSA’s sketchy surveillance practices, Brazil and other up-and-coming economies have been pushing to shift the power dynamics of the World Wide Web away from a US-centric model for years.
With a new light shining on those efforts, it’s a good time to ask: Is it possible? Plausible? And if so, how will it work?
The prevailing opinion among experts is that those answers are yes, no, and it's complicated. The debate about whether you can build an independent, compartmentalized network has been overshadowed by the debate over whether you should. Would it cause a doomsday Balkanization effect that undermines the global connectivity of the open web, or level the economic playing field for developing nations in the information age?...MORE
