The Possibilities — and Perils — of Facebook

Just last week, POMED co-sponsored an event to explore the implications of new media technologies for both ground-level reform movements as well as U.S. foreign policy. Featured panelist Jared Cohen insisted that the proliferation of “value-neutral” information and connection technologies (ICT) demands a restructuring of U.S. policy tools to help influence these forces and push back against extremist groups who exploit ICT for nefarious purposes.

Of course, one of the most ubiquitous emerging technologies is Facebook, and Issandr El Amrani has a post up highlighting recent intersections of the popular networking client with Middle Eastern politics. While Facebook has thus far been a boon for Mohamed ElBaradei during his recent political surge, it also led to the arrest of a Moroccan man who purported to be a member of the royal family on his Facebook profile. And although he was recently pardoned for his indiscretion, some believe his experience demonstrates how ICT provides authoritarian governments with yet another tool to monitor and disrupt dissent. El Amrani also draws attention to a slightly more innocuous case of social media savvy in Saudi Arabia, where the Minister of Culture used Facebook as a PR mechanism to deny rumors of banned books at the Riyadh Book Fair.

Despite these concerns, some still champion ICT as an invaluable mobilizing force for oppositionists. Over at Foreign Policy, Mohammad Sadeghi — head administrator of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Zahra Rahnavard‘s Supporters’ Network on Facebook — argues that the Green Movement “owes its greatest successes to the horizontal organization and innovative use of technology.” And yesterday, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it would ease web-related sanctions for Sudan, Iran, and Cuba, perhaps indicating that the Obama administration believes in the democratizing power of ICT as well.