Wikipedia
Cyber-utopianism – the belief that online communication is in itself emancipatory, and that the Internet favors the oppressed rather than the oppressor – has accompanied the Internet from its beginnings; and was the subject of critique by the Critical Art Ensemble as early as 1995. While the romantic view of cyberspace was partially dented by the bursting of the dot-com bubble, utopian views of the internet continued to re-invent themselves through the Noughties.
Douglas Rushkoff sings the praises of Web 2.0 by stating, “The Internet’s ability to network human beings is its very life’s blood. It fosters communication, collaboration, sharing, helpfulness, and community… The ideas, information, and applications now launching on Web sites around the world capitalize on the transparency, usability, and accessibility that the internet was born to deliver.
The rise of Internet censorship and surveillance across the world has led to a growing number of "cyber skeptics" arguing that repressive governments are able to adapt their tactics to respond to threats, using technology against the interests of dissenting movements. In 2011, cyber-utopianism, particularly in global politics, was powerfully critiqued by Evgeny Morozov in his 2011 book The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom. Acknowledging his own past as a cyber-utopian, Morozov calls the belief naive and stubborn for its refusal to acknowledge the downside – the opportunities for authoritarian monitoring and control - of cyber-space. He goes on to blame the "former hippies" in the 1990s, for causing this utopian belief.
"Cyber-utopians ambitiously set out to build a new and improved United Nations, only to end up with a digital Cirque du Soleil"