Who are we to define online 'freedom'?

But if you are worried about speed, count me in. The single gateway will be just as the name suggests – one doorway through which data flows in and out. Some experts say it could create a bottleneck. If the system crashes, I will be without many of the things necessary in my life. Whether it’s temporary or not doesn’t matter. An hour without the Internet and I’ll lose much of my identity, 90 per cent of my work, and the chance to say goodnight, good morning and happy birthday to my loved ones. (I can call them up to say those things, of course, but that wouldn’t be cool.)

If you think this is about freedom, leave me out. The single gateway is not the only way to spy or control. A guy called Edward Snowden will assure you that if the powers-that-be are determined and sophisticated enough, knowing what we watch late at night, whom we interact with online, or who we think should die a horrible death is a piece of cake, whether it’s via a single, double or multiple gateway.

I wonder what America would have to say officially about the single gateway, though. Better still, I wonder how Snowden, now on the run from Washington’s legal reach for “stealing” and “exposing” sensitive US government data, would react to American politicians’ stand on the issue.

What I’m trying to say is that, if you think Snowden is right about excessive state surveillance, quit worrying about the single gateway, because it’s a waste of time. And if you think Washington is right about him being a thief, a traitor or a terrorist, then you can also stop worrying. At least one American politician has accused Snowden of putting the lives of his compatriots at risk, which I think is damning proof in itself of what the US authorities have been doing.

It’s one thing if Snowden put American lives in danger by lying. It’s another if he put those lives in danger by simply telling the truth. In other words, if what he “stole” and “exposed” was good, why would it put lives in danger? And if what he “stole” and “exposed” was bad, was trying to stop it a bad thing?

Snowden is tweeting now, which in my book demonstrates the benefits of an Internet that is not strictly controlled. But as I said earlier, the Internet and freedom are complex issues and we are all still learners. To jump the gun one way or another is not recommended. I mean, if we asked Washington whether Thailand should have a single gateway, we might get one answer; if we asked whether Snowden has the right to tweet, we might get another. The two questions, in fact, are deeply related.

The much-criticised motivation for implementing a single gateway in Thailand is the same as it was for American authorities – whose resulting actions Snowden exposed. And his outcry over invasion of privacy, state surveillance and exaggerated national security interests is pretty much the core argument of the single gateway’s opponents in Thailand. As we can see, it’s a very complicated matter, and even the best political scriptwriters will struggle to simultaneously lambast both Snowden and the political motives for the single gateway.

If I could nominate one new word for the dictionary, it would be “Snowdengate”. We could say it defies contemporary thinking on freedom, national security, privacy, democracy and patriotism. The word doesn’t just challenge the moral conscience of American leadership; it also requires that all of us do some genuine soul-searching. After all, “Snowdengate” mixes “Edward Snowden” and “single gateway” nicely.

Brandishing the slogan “We are born to be free” in debates is easy. It’s just as simple for the other side to hit back with “Great freedom comes with great responsibility.” The hard part is “accepting” the argument of the people who don’t agree with us. “Freedom” is not black and white, folks, and we can land ourselves with a double standard if we are not careful.

Do you want your parents to share your passwords? Do you want to know the passwords of your children? Answer these with a hand on your heart and you’ll know what I mean, which is why I’ll stick to complaining about lousy Internet speeds.