Race to the Online Mass Surveillance : The End of Privacy and Open Internet?

The recent revelations of intensive mass surveillance led by the United States of America (USA) along with the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, Canada and many other established democracies have moved the tectonic plate of the internet regulatory structure. Lacks of efficiency of the current regulatory regimes and failure to protect trust and interest of common internet users are adding momentum to the ongoing demand for restructuring internet governance worldwide. While the privacy and protection online are continuously under threat, the European Union (EU) has failed to respond to the need of time. Political and business interest are preventing the states to reach a consensus on issues everybody agrees needs attention thereby sideling basic data protection rights. States are taking measures stifling the freedom of internet sometimes due to misunderstandings of its operation and most of the time intentionally. After land, sea, air, and space, cyberspace is becoming the novel 5th space of warfare. States like China, USA and Russia are creating offensive cyber war capabilities and engaging in cyber attacks with alarming frequency. Is it the beginning of the end of online privacy or open internet?