Digital repression is on the rise. Governments around the world have used tools like mass surveillance, internet blocking and disinformation to stay in power. This includes both autocratic governments and weak or illiberal democracies. 

New research from my guest today Steve Feldstein offers some novel insights into the kinds of digital tools governments are using to consolidate power, and for what purpose. He is the author of the new book The Rise of Digital Repression: How Technology is Reshaping Power, Politics, and Resistance