Could big brother ground you from the internet?

[angrycarpenter]

Could the government shut off internet service to large numbers of people? I know that they monitor many things, but do they have the ability to simply shut a large geographic area off? Like a city or a neighborhood.

It seems that this would be a desired weapon in case of a civil uprising.
I really don't have a clue as to how the internet works, it might as well be magic.

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Hmmmm.

I'll get back to you on that.

[ret5hd]

2. well, there was that situation a coupla weeks ago...

where 3 or was it 4 or did it end up being 5 cables were severed, blacking out the middle east, india, et al.

[MadMaddie]

3. Sure they can wasn't in China where they forced one of the big

providers to stop allowing access to certain sites? If they can do that then, yes they can shut down service to huge communities. They can shut land line phone service, cell phones, electrical service and make it look like it was sabotage or other.

[Pavulon]

4. DARPA invented

the internet. We build the core gear that runs it. Wrote the OS that most core equipment runs..

[walldude]

5. Not without help. Hence telecom immunity

It's not just for wiretapping...

[angrycarpenter]

6. I ask because I believe that there is a button

somewhere that will turn off the internet to the entire world or just to the parts we want to be in a major state of turmoil.

[warren pease]

7. Oh, I think they very well might...

From this article in Global Research, an excellent counter-disinfo site that operates -- naturally -- outside US borders; in this case, Canada.

Selected snips from the article:

The Pentagon's Information Operations Roadmap is blunt about the fact that an internet, with the potential for free speech, is in direct opposition to their goals. The internet needs to be dealt with as if it were an enemy "weapons system."

From the Information Operation Roadmap:

"When implemented the recommendations of this report will effectively jumpstart a rapid improvement of CNA (Computer Network Attack) capability."

"Enhanced IO (information operations) capabilities for the warfighter, including: ... A robust offensive suite of capabilities to include full-range electronic and computer network attack..."

"We Must Fight the Net. DoD is building an information-centric force. Networks are increasingly the operational center of gravity, and the Department must be prepared to "fight the net."

"DoD's "Defense in Depth" strategy should operate on the premise that the Department will "fight the net" as it would a weapons system."

And even old PNAC rears its ugly lizard head (or is that just Wolfowitz yawning?):

From Rebuilding America's Defenses:

"It is now commonly understood that information and other new technologies... are creating a dynamic that may threaten America's ability to exercise its dominant military power."

"Control of space and cyberspace. Much as control of the high seas - and the protection of international commerce - defined global powers in the past, so will control of the new "international commons" be a key to world power in the future. An America incapable of protecting its interests or that of its allies in space or the "infosphere" will find it difficult to exert global political leadership."

"Although it may take several decades for the process of transformation to unfold, in time, the art of warfare on air, land, and sea will be vastly different than it is today, and "combat" likely will take place in new dimensions: in space, "cyber-space," and perhaps the world of microbes."

So yeah, I'd say "grounding you from the internet" is a bit beyond a possibility. It's a dead-on certainty once the regime decides there's no reason to pretend to play nice anymore and brings the hammer down full force.

It would be ever so nice if Ms. Nancy would let the house impeach the fuckers before any of this has a chance to get off the ground, but I guess that just wouldn't be the polite thing to do.


wp

[nadinbrzezinski]

8. Short answer, yes

long answer... it will take a while.

But not so long answer, they can isolate a city, or a state fairly easily (which can be overcome by your average geek)

But if they wanted to shut the country off, easy as pie... And no, there are many reasons why I will not go into details again.