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“The internet is a game-changing technology on these issues. It has the ability to empower individuals more than any other technology before it. This scares some people in power and so regimes around the world are increasingly working to restrict the Internet,” he said.

In its latest annual report on Internet freedom, the U.S.-based non-profit Freedom House said it had declined in 2014 for the fourth consecutive year as online censorship and monitoring became increasing aggressive and sophisticated.

Countries were “rapidly adopting new laws that legitimize existing repression and effectively criminalize online dissent,” it said. As a result, more people than ever were being arrested for the things they had posted online.

“Blocking and filtering — once the most widespread methods of censorship — are still very common, but many countries now prefer to simply imprison users who post undesirable content, thereby deterring others and encouraging self-censorship,” it said.

Prof. Janice Gross Stein of the Munk School said the government funding would finance a “digital public square … designed for citizens who cannot come together in safety to exchange ideas about the future of their country.”

The school also plans to conduct online polling on issues and report the results. “Why does that matter? Because they cannot come together in safe and open discussion to talk about what their fellow citizens think and to share ideas. That’s such a fundamental right, it’s so important to the fabric of our life in this country that we take it for granted, but it’s not something that many, many, many around the world share.”