Towards Information Sovereignty: Media and Change Series

Information sovereignty refers to a state's attempt to control information flows within its territory. Control doesn't necessarily require a government to shutdown access to the internet. It is asserted in a variety of ways, including: filtering, monitoring and structuring industry-government relations in order to maximize state preferences in privately operated communications systems. Short of permanently cutting off all access to the internet, governments around the world are exploring the different options for exerting control over domestic information flows. In some cases, these mechanisms allow for greater control over digital communications than was previously asserted over the analogue and interpersonal. Information sovereignty's emphasis on the political rights of governments to control information flows within their geographically delineated territories leverages two simple facts. First, the majority of the world's governments remain eager to protect and strengthen their sovereignty. Second, the majority of citizens support the nation-state system, holding on to nationalist views. As a result, information sovereignty is gaining traction, especially outside the West.

Shawn Powers (PhD, University of Southern California) is a jointly-appointed fellow at CEU's Center for Media, Data and Society and the Institute for Advanced Studies. He is also an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Georgia State University. His research specializes in international political communication with particular attention to the geopolitics of information and technology policy.