[saasyguy]

This kind of thing isn't new though. The Internet is just the latest means of communication with the public. Public opinion has, and still is, manipulated for good and bad via mass media, grassroots campaigning, bribery, agent provocateurs, etc., etc. Replace "internet" with "telephone" or "printing press" and your post would read the same. Governments always want to control their "internal political processes" and to achieve that they tend to block out anything that interferes, whether it be foreign governments or internal factions that run counter to their interests.