2012-02-02
Explanation
This comic is a commentary on internet privacy and civil liberties, structured as a series of parallels between online policies that are presented as "responsible" or "reasonable" and their real-world equivalents that would be considered outrageous. The first pair contrasts internet piracy enforcement (shutting down "questionable websites") with physically shutting down a business because a neighboring shop claims their products are similar. The second pair contrasts government email surveillance ("we only look at it if we think someone is a criminal") with physically opening and scanning someone's mail, then adding a note congratulating them on their sex life.
The third pair contrasts monitoring downloads and online behavior "to protect the children" with police searching someone's house without a warrant to check for illegal material, and responding to a request for a warrant with "What're you, a pedophile?" The comic concludes with the pointed message: "Fun Fact: People are citizens while on the internet too." The strip argues that many internet regulations and surveillance practices that are presented as common-sense would be immediately recognized as authoritarian overreach if applied in the physical world, and that digital rights should be treated with the same seriousness as traditional civil liberties.