Here we go again..

It was only just yesterday the United Nations apologized for how poor the original CyberViolence report was and left onlookers with an estimated time of two weeks before we can see it again after it has been revised. It seems the UN is not ready to settle until then though.

Today it’s been revealed by Seattle4Truth and reported by TheRalphRetort that the United Nations is doubling down on the CyberViolence narrative. On October 9th at 1pm (PST) the United Nations plan to start a discussion on Twitter of all places under the hashtag #TakeBackTheTech to collect more examples of the various ways women are abused online.

What that has to do with tech is really beyond me. Why are we taking back tech. Who are we taking tech back from? Who is ultimately going to get the tech in the end? It’s a silly hashtag if you ask me and strays far from the intended point.

It seems to me the people who are pushing this #TakeBackTheTech hashtag are really just upset their thoughts and opinions can be criticized on social media. I’m honestly not sure what they expected when they decided to put themselves out there on a public forum. Anybody who’s been online before has dealt with criticism in one form or another and the block features on social media couldn’t be any easier to use without turning off your computer.

Is that not what social media is intended to be for though? Connecting and networking with others to discuss and critique ideas and opinions. When did it become wrong to do so in the case of women? Why is that suddenly a form of abuse and how can differing opinions be considered a form of violence now?

One thing is for certain, it is not a gendered issue. We’ve all been criticized and we’ve all dealt with trolls on social media. Censoring the internet in the guise of protecting women will do nothing more than hinder discussion entirely. That is exactly what the United Nations is intending to do and I for one would hate to see that happen.