“A new generation of protesters, raised on social media and often fluent in the tools of digital dissent, has taken to the streets in recent months and years.”

“In Bangladesh, Iran, Togo, France, Uganda, Nepal, and more than a dozen other countries, young people have harnessed digital tools to mobilize at scale, shape political narratives, and sustain movements.”

“The tools at their disposal are vast, allowing them to coordinate quickly and turn local grievances into visible, transnational moments of dissent.”

“Governments now implement draconian regulations and deploy sophisticated surveillance systems, content manipulation, and automated censorship to pre-empt, predict, and punish collective action.”

“The same tools that were once celebrated as tools of dissent have become instruments for tracking, harassing, and prosecuting dissenters.”

“Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire on December 17, 2010, after repeated harassment by local officials.”

“Tunisia’s internet controls were among the most restrictive in the world.”

“Nawaat documented a sophisticated filtering regime: DNS tampering, URL blocking, IP filtering, keyword censorship.”

“Egypt blocked Twitter and Facebook on January 26, 2011, and shut down the internet almost entirely the following day.”

“The 2011 uprisings did not create the movements but digital tools helped people share information and coordinate action.”