Evgeny Morozov Quotes

Powerful Evgeny Morozov for Daily Growth

About Evgeny Morozov

Evgeny Morozov, born on September 14, 1984, in Minsk, Belarus, is a renowned political theorist, writer, and internet critic. Raised under the authoritarian regime of Aleksandr Lukashenko, Morozoev's early life experiences significantly influenced his perspectives on technology and democracy. In 2006, Morozov moved to the United States to pursue a Master's degree in public policy at George Washington University. His doctoral studies at the same university focused on internet politics and digital activism. Morozov gained international recognition with his first book, "The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom," published in 2011. This work critiques the overly optimistic view of the internet's democratic potential and warns about its dangers in authoritarian contexts. His second book, "To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism" (2013), further expands on his critique of technological determinism, arguing that technological solutions often serve to reinforce existing power structures rather than challenge them. In 2018, Morozov published "Towards the Sustainable City: How Urban Design Can Help Save the Planet," where he discusses how urban planning can contribute to environmental sustainability and social justice. Morozov currently teaches at Stanford University and is a fellow at the Harvard University's Safra Center for Ethics. His work continues to challenge conventional wisdom about technology, democracy, and urban design, provoking thoughtful discussions on their intersection with politics and society.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Social media is not a sunken treasure waiting to be found; it's more like an iceberg that requires constant effort to keep afloat."

The quote suggests that social media, unlike a treasure found with minimal effort, requires consistent attention and maintenance to remain relevant or successful. Just as an iceberg floats only after ongoing efforts to stay above water, social media platforms need continuous user engagement, content creation, and updates to stay afloat in the vast digital ocean of online communication. In other words, success on social media is not automatic but requires constant effort and active participation from its users.


"The Internet does not empower us individually, but rather collectively, and we must learn to act accordingly."

This quote by Evgeny Morozov suggests that while individuals may have access to information and communication tools through the internet, it is only when people come together as a collective that they can truly harness its power and achieve meaningful change. In other words, individual actions on the internet are insufficient; coordinated group efforts and collaboration are necessary for significant impact. This idea underscores the importance of community and solidarity in leveraging the potential benefits offered by the internet.


"We have two choices: either we adapt the web to our humanity, or we adapt ourselves to the digital logic of the web."

This quote by Evgeny Morozov highlights the tension between human values and behavior versus the impersonal nature of the internet, often referred to as "digital logic." It suggests that we can either mold technology to align with our human needs and ethics or risk changing ourselves to fit the digital world's demands. The quote is a call-to-action for people to reflect on how technology should serve humanity, not the other way around. This reflection is essential in creating a balanced digital environment that promotes human flourishing while leveraging the benefits of technology.


"To some extent, every technology is political."

This quote by Evgeny Morozov implies that technologies are not merely tools or neutral entities; they are inherently embedded in political systems and societal structures. The design, implementation, and use of technology always reflect the values, power dynamics, and interests of the people who create and control it. Therefore, understanding the politics behind technology is crucial to navigate its impact on our society.


"The Internet does not offer a clean slate for human freedom; instead, it comes with its own pre-installed ideologies and biases."

This quote suggests that while the internet has revolutionized communication and information sharing, it doesn't provide an unbiased or neutral platform for human expression and freedom. Instead, the digital environment is shaped by the underlying philosophies, algorithms, and societal values of its creators and users, which can limit and guide our interactions in subtle yet significant ways. It's a reminder that technology, in this case, the internet, does not exist in a vacuum but reflects the ideologies and biases of the society it serves.


Cloud computing is a great euphemism for centralization of computer services under one server.

- Evgeny Morozov

Cloud, Computer, Server, Computing

If you want to plan a revolution, you never do it in public - the authorities show up and arrest everyone.

- Evgeny Morozov

Never, Everyone, Public, Arrest

When we can commit a crime, we can also trigger debate. Cases go to courts. Media start covering the cases. But once you build smart environments where, if you meet a certain probabilistic profile, you won't even be allowed to board a bus, let alone commit a crime, we're perpetuating existing laws so they face no challenges or revision.

- Evgeny Morozov

Bus, Covering, Environments, Trigger

It's true that virtually all new technologies do trigger what sociologists would call 'moral panics,' that there are a lot of people who are concerned with the possible political and social consequences, and that this has been true throughout the ages.

- Evgeny Morozov

Political, Been, Concerned, Trigger

Steve Jobs was notoriously blunt about products he found wanting, but his attack on Flash - Adobe's popular technology for playing multimedia content inside a browser - was particularly vicious. Claiming it was buggy and insecure, Jobs banned it from the iPad.

- Evgeny Morozov

Inside, Wanting, About, Vicious

I went to SXSW in 2011. God, that was awful. I mean, I only went because my publisher wanted me to promote the book and the organizers invited me and it seemed silly not to go, especially for a relatively unknown first-time author. This is just not my cup of tea; the fewer such events I do on an annual basis, the happier I feel.

- Evgeny Morozov

Book, Fewer, Awful, First-Time

We need to start seeing privacy as a commons - as some kind of a public good that can get depleted as too many people treat it carelessly or abandon it too eagerly. What is privacy for? This question needs an urgent answer.

- Evgeny Morozov

Treat, Some, Depleted, Eagerly

In China, Internet surveillance has already become a profitable industry. In fact, a growing number of private firms eagerly assist the local police by aggregating this data and presenting it in easy-to-browse formats, allowing humans to pursue more analytical tasks.

- Evgeny Morozov

Fact, Private, Formats, Eagerly

The director of the FBI has been visiting Silicon Valley companies asking them to build back doors so that it can spy on what is being said online. The Department of Commerce is going after piracy. At home, the American government wants anything but Internet freedom.

- Evgeny Morozov

Asking, Been, Visiting, FBI

It is true that authoritarian governments increasingly see the Internet as a threat in part because they see the U.S. government behind the Internet.

- Evgeny Morozov

Behind, Part, Increasingly, Authoritarian

North Korea aside, most authoritarian governments have already accepted the growth of the Internet culture as inevitable; they have little choice but to find ways to shape it in accord with their own narratives - or risk having their narratives shaped by others.

- Evgeny Morozov

Own, Shaped, North, Authoritarian

The Egyptian experience suggests that social media can greatly accelerate the death of already dying authoritarian regimes.

- Evgeny Morozov

Death, Social, Egyptian, Authoritarian

Faster roads are not always safer roads - and virtually all societies, democratic or authoritarian, prefer safety over speed, even if many of their citizens enjoy fast driving.

- Evgeny Morozov

Always, Over, Prefer, Authoritarian

My homeland of Belarus is an unlikely place for an Internet revolution. The country, controlled by authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko since 1994, was once described by Condoleezza Rice as 'the last outpost of tyranny in Europe.'

- Evgeny Morozov

Country, Last, Unlikely, Authoritarian

If you use your smart toothbrush, the data can be immediately sent to your dentist and your insurance company, but it also allows someone from the NSA to know what was in your mouth three weeks ago.

- Evgeny Morozov

Insurance, Data, Weeks, Toothbrush

I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and start-ups - and now I have moved to Cambridge, MA - which, in many respects, is like Palo Alto but a bit snarkier.

- Evgeny Morozov

About, Suffocating, Moved, Many Respects

Why does crime happen? Well, you might say that it's because youths don't have jobs. Or you might say that's because the doors of our buildings are not fortified enough. Given some limited funds to spend, you can either create yet another national employment program or you can equip houses with even better cameras, sensors, and locks.

- Evgeny Morozov

Why, Some, Another, Funds

I used to work for an NGO called Transitions Online, and I was their Director of New Media. I was a very idealistic fellow who thought that he could use blogs, social networks and new media to help promote democracy, human rights and freedom of expression.

- Evgeny Morozov

Very, Use, Social Networks, Idealistic

The idea that the Internet favors the oppressed rather than the oppressor is marred by what I call cyber-utopianism: a naive belief in the emancipatory nature of online communication that rests on a stubborn refusal to admit its downside.

- Evgeny Morozov

Stubborn, Rather, Downside, Oppressor

There is this absurd assumption that the revitalisation of the public sphere is always a good thing. I think people tend to confuse 'civic' and 'civil,' and they believe that everything that is done by citizens is necessarily a good thing because you build a network, an association.

- Evgeny Morozov

Good, Association, I Think, Civic

This marketization of personal information is a big mistake.

- Evgeny Morozov

Mistake, Personal, Big, Personal Information

Information technology has been one of the leading drivers of globalization, and it may also become one of its major victims.

- Evgeny Morozov

Been, May, Leading, Globalization

If WikiLeaks were a for-profit company, determining its real value would be a nearly impossible task.

- Evgeny Morozov

Impossible, Real, Nearly, Real Value

When it is about technology, there is this tendency to just reject all criticism as being anti-technological and anti-modern. I think this is very unhealthy.

- Evgeny Morozov

Think, I Think, Very, Unhealthy

Most other documents leaked to WikiLeaks do not carry the same explosive potential as candid cables written by American diplomats.

- Evgeny Morozov

Other, Explosive, Documents, Leaked

If China's expansion into Africa and Russia's into Latin America and the former Soviet Union are any indication, Silicon Valley's ability to expand globally will be severely limited, if only because Beijing and Moscow have no qualms about blending politics and business.

- Evgeny Morozov

Politics, Soviet Union, Qualms

As leakers take great risks in releasing information, assuring them that they are not sacrificing themselves in vain and that their leaks would have public consequences would most likely encourage more people to leak.

- Evgeny Morozov

More, Likely, More People, Assuring

Creative experimentation propels our culture forward. That our stories of innovation tend to glorify the breakthroughs and edit out all the experimental mistakes doesn't mean that mistakes play a trivial role. As any artist or scientist knows, without some protected, even sacred space for mistakes, innovation would cease.

- Evgeny Morozov

Play, Some, Role, Glorify

Cybercriminals are usually driven by profit, while cyberterrorists are driven by ideology.

- Evgeny Morozov

Driven, Ideology, While, Profit

To understand the limits and opportunities of algorithms in the context of artistic creation, we need to understand that the latter usually consists of three elements: discovery, production, and recommendation.

- Evgeny Morozov

Understand, Need, Production, Context

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