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Summary: In the midst of the NSA and gleeful surveillance by governments worldwide, does Schmidt's prediction have merit?

Google's Eric Schmidt says that it is possible for censorship as we know it to end within a decade.

Speaking at a Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday, the tech giant's executive chairman said that in areas such as China and North Korea -- where the Internet is restricted and free speech can result in severe punishment -- the better use of encryption and technological innovation could keep everyone connected and prevent spying -- whether the ruling powers that be like it or not. Schmidt commented:

"First they try to block you; second, they try to infiltrate you; and third, you win. I really think that's how it works. Because the power is shifted.

I believe there's a real chance that we can eliminate censorship and the possibility of censorship in a decade."

According to Reuters, speaking of a trip to North Korea, Schmidt said that attempts to lessen restrictions on the flow of information into the country failed.

While on the trip in January, his daughter Sophie summed up the country as "like The Truman Show, at country scale." Sophie mentioned that the delegation were advised to leave their gadgets in China to stop them being confiscated and infected with malware -- and while there are three separate versions of the Internet, a supervised one, university network and the country's intranet, the average North Korean cannot access the Web freely.

In addition, despite 3G connectivity, data access is non-existent. The Google chairman pleaded with officials from the so-called "Hermit country" to remove Internet access barriers, warning that economic destruction and isolation will be North Korea's future if they failed to do so soon (if not so already). At a press conference in Beijing, Schmidt said:

"As the world becomes increasingly connected, their decision to be virtually isolated is very much going to affect their physical world. [Web restrictions will] make it harder for them to catch up economically. We made that alternative very, very clear."

The Google executive has not been invited back to the country. However, as we all know in light of the U.S. National Security Agency document leaks provided by Edward Snowden, censorship and surveillance can be found closer to home.

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Will censorship vanish within a decade? Google chairman Eric Schmidt says so

Washington: Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has a bold prediction: Censorship around the world could end in a decade, and better use of encryption will help people overcome government surveillance.

In a lecture at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday, the executive of the world's biggest web search company made a pitch for ending censorship in China and other countries with restricted freedom of speech by connecting everyone to the Internet and protecting their communication from spying.

"First they try to block you; second, they try to infiltrate you; and third, you win. I really think that's how it works. Because the power is shifted," he said.

"I believe there's a real chance that we can eliminate censorship and the possibility of censorship in a decade."

Schmidt has long spoken out against limitations to the freedom of expression and restricted Internet access around the world. Earlier this year, he travelled to North Korea, a country disconnected from the rest of the world, to promote the cause.

"It's clear that we failed. But we'll try again. We have not been invited back," he said of the personal trip, the timing of which was later criticised by the US State Department as being not helpful because it came shortly after North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket.

The goal for North Korea, Schmidt said, was not democracy for now but to merely get the people to connect with the rest of the world: "My view is that if we can get some connectivity, then they'll begin to open the country, they'll begin to understand other systems."

On the home front, too, Google is now one of several tech companies embroiled in the controversy over the reach of US government spying. Top secret documents disclosed by former spy agency contractor Edward Snowden have suggested the National Security Agency has tapped Google's and others' communications links to aid in its gathering of intelligence.

Schmidt at the time said that the NSA's activity, if true, was outrageous and potentially illegal.

Google, at which Schmidt served as CEO until 2011, has faced its own criticism for intercepting data over the years. The company acknowledged in 2010 that a fleet of cars it operates to map the world's streets had mistakenly collected passwords and other personal data from home consumers' wireless networks over a two year-period.

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Censorship around the world will end in a decade: Google's Eric Schmidt

In light of the surveillance by governments worldwide, Google's Eric Schmidt makes a bold prediction.

Eric Schmidt

Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt apparently believes it's possible for censorship as we know it to end within a decade.

Speaking at Johns Hopkins University on Wednesday, Schmidt said that in countries such as China and North Korea -- where the Internet is restricted and free speech can result in severe punishment -- the better use of encryption and tech innovations could eventually lead to connecting everyone and preventing spying, whether the powers that be like it or not. According to Schmidt:

First they try to block you; second, they try to infiltrate you; and third, you win. I really think that's how it works. Because the power is shifted.

I believe there's a real chance that we can eliminate censorship and the possibility of censorship in a decade.

According to Reuters, Schmidt recounted his trip in January to North Korea and acknowledged that his attempts to loosen restrictions on the flow of information into that country failed.

While on the trip, his daughter Sophie summed up the country as "like The Truman Show, at country scale."

In light of the U.S. National Security Agency documents provided by leaker Edward Snowden, surveillance can obviously be found closer to home as well.

Documents released by the former NSA contractor suggested that Google is one of several companies that has had its data tapped by the U.S. agency for intelligence gathering.

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Schmidt: Censorship could vanish within a decade

Cyber security and misuse of social networking sites was one of the main focus of the top police brass who gathered here for an annual conference as government made it clear that freedom of expression cannot be an explanation for spreading mischievous rumours to foment trouble.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde, while addressing the chief of police forces who gathered for three-day meet of Directors General and Inspectors General of police here, said that as the country moves along the path of modernisation newer challenges emerge.

"Government has succeeded in increasing the density and spread of internet connectivity to village level. This has made us prone to sophisticated cyber crimes and attacks."

"Extensive networking of computer systems, particularly in sensitive areas has increased our vulnerability to such attempts from hostile elements. Security agencies and police forces would need to develop expertise for a coordinated response to counter these problems," he said at the conference being organised by Intelligence Bureau.

Shinde said a related issue was that of misuse of social media and added that "while government favours freedom of expression, mischievous use of this medium to foment trouble needs to be checked".

"Last year, social media was exploited by vested interests to generate fear amongst the people of the North East in Bangalore. More recently, the Muzaffarnagar riots were fanned by similar misuse."

On the subject of misuse of cyber space, Shinde drew attention to attempts being made to revive militancy in certain places by unleashing distorted narrative about emotive events and issues on internet to mislead and misguide youth.

"One such sinister attempt was nipped in the bud by an alert Punjab Police. It had come to notice recently that in Punjab some self-radicalised groups had made attempts to vitiate the atmosphere by targeting some important leaders."

"We need to closely monitor such situations arising out of the pernicious propaganda circulating on certain websites," he said.

Emerging story. Watch this space for updates as more details come in

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'Freedom of Expression Can't Explain Rumour Spreading'

About one in seven people around the globe use a social networking site at least once a month, and that number is expected to see grow significantly over the next several years.

About 1.61 billion people will use a social networking site, such as Facebook, Google+, Instagram or Twitter, this month, according to eMarketer, a market research company. That's a 14.2% increase from 2012, and double-digit growth is expected to continue through next year.

By 2017, 2.33 billion people will use social networks, the company said.

The World Bank has reported that there were 7.046 billion people last year. That means this year 22.8% of the world's population is using social networks at least every month.

By 2017, when some estimates show the world population reaching 7.44 billion, 31.3% of the world will be using social networks, according to eMarketer.

The company also noted that while the number of social network users is growing, that growth rate is slowing.

For instance, 2012 showed a year-over-year growth rate of 17.6%, but this year's growth slipped to 14.2%. By 2017, the growth rate is expected to slide to show 7.6%.

The world's largest social networking site, Facebook, should reach 1.026 billion monthly users by the end of this year, eMarketer estimates.

The U.S. has the most monthly Facebook users with 146.8 million.

Currently, the Netherlands has the highest penetration of social media users with 63.5%. Norway comes in second with 63.3%. The U.S. was sixth at 51.7%

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One out of seven people use social networks, study shows