Information: South Torbia

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Information Overview

Onset of the Information Age

The economic expansion that occurred within South Torbia during the 1990’s was accompanied by a rapid growth and evolution of how the population engaged with information. Since that time, South Torbia has become a leader in the development of information and communications technologies, and therefore they are at the forefront of most tech trends.

Contemporary Situation

South Torbia has a thriving and relatively free information environment. Internet and television media are state-of-the-art, and the most important form of media in South Torbia. South Torbia’s mass media operates with freedom of the press, but an anti-defamation law means journalists must continue to use self-censorship to ensure they do not face harsh penalties from the government on adverse reporting. The internet is the most free form of information media, with social media being the preferred means of expressing individual opinions. South Torbians have access to information from sources around the world.

Information Industries

Information Products (Content Industries)

News Media

South Torbia’s constitutional protections guaranteeing freedom of speech and freedom of the press has led enabled a diverse number of private companies to influence and shape the information environment.  Some companies have maintained the ability to mass print and distribute physical content, however the majority of companies have transitioned to being relying on digital content. As information dissemination has shifted from printed media to digital media, a wider and more diverse array of perspectives have been given a platform, potentially amplifying narratives that previously may have lacked a platform.

 South Torbia’s government has attempted to keep pace with private industry in an effort to ensure an ability to remain relevant among its intended audiences. The government’s media services have the ability to create printed and digital media.

Entertainment Media

While certainly not on the same level as either Hollywood or Bollywood, South Torbia has quietly become a non-traditional force within the entertainment world. While South Torbia’s film and television industries are rather nascent in comparison to other regional and global film industries, they have begun to carve out their own niche, blending traditional Torbian values with influences from around the globe.

Social Media

While not every South Torbian uses social media, those that do are engrossed by it. People of all ages use social media as a way to communicate with friends, learn about new topics, and stay up to date with current events. Roughly 90% of South Torbians between the ages of 20-29 use some form of social media. The use of social media begins to taper off as people age, however use by people between the ages of 30-49 is still above 80%. There are a wide variety of different social media platforms available to the population.  Certain platforms are more popular within different age groups, for example Facebook and Instagram are popular among people between 20 and 30 years old, however they are significantly less popular among older South Torbians.

Information Services

Financial Services

As one of the fastest growing economies in the world, South Torbia’s financial institutions function in a digitally interconnected world. The financial market consists of a blend of South Torbian companies and international companies. Given the fact that South Torbian financial institutions are operating within the global financial system, they have developed state-of-the-art protections against cyber-crime and cyber-attacks in order to protect their businesses and the private information of customers.

Control/Regulation. The degree of control and regulation of the financial institutions within South Torbia ebbs and flows with the political landscape.

Medical System

South Torbia’s system of providing universal healthcare, paired with privately funded insurance has enabled it to uniformly digitize healthcare records and connect healthcare providers. This has enabled South Torbia to have a highly effective and integrated healthcare system. While the general healthcare system is highly functioning, those providers who specialize in mental health are often not integrated. This is due to the fact that there is an enduring social stigma within South Torbia that not only discourages people from seeking treatment, but also incentivizes providers to be “unplugged” as a way to encourage business by promising to protect patient information from cyber security threats. This means that while the majority of healthcare issues across the population are well documented, mental health issues are often either underreported or even undiagnosed within the population.

Control/Regulation. Regulation of the healthcare system has been a contentious issue, with politics often getting in the way of progress. For this reason, the healthcare industry is relatively self-regulated, with private companies preferring to avoid government interference altogether.

Legal/Criminal Records

Legal and criminal records have been digitized and integrated into a country wide database. This enables members of the legal system, law enforcement, and government officials to have access to legal documentation from around the country. While this database covers the entire nation, the data inputs are maintained and updated by the local jurisdictions. This can lead to administrative errors and also create opportunities for potential corruption associated with contracts, deeds, licensing, and property titles. While this may seem like an obvious issue that needs correcting, South Torbians view the decentralization of legal information as an additional layer of protection against any cyber threats from bad faith actors. If the national record is compromised, the local records should still remain secure.

Control/Regulation. Criminal records are maintained by the jurisdiction in which the criminal trial occurred. South Torbia’s national government maintains an overarching system that integrates information from across every jurisdiction within the country, however all data and inputs into the system must be recorded and updated by the jurisdiction. While this system typically works smoothly, it can lead to challenges when there are administrative errors or when criminal records are expunged. If an issue is not identified and corrected, it can mean that the national system will contain incorrect information.

Navigation (Global Positioning)

South Torbia operates three navigation satellite systems using L-band transponders. The combined systems create a network of navigation services and provide regional coverage of the Asia-Pacific region. The three satellites are each 120° apart, in a highly inclined, slightly elliptical geosynchronous orbit. Because of this inclination, they are not geostationary, making their ground traces appear in an asymmetrical figure-eight pattern designed to ensure that one is almost directly overhead of South Torbia at all times. When necessary, South Torbian military units purchase commercial off-the-shelf satellite navigation receivers for navigation support. There are plans to launch a fourth satellite to enhance the accuracy of the system in the near future.

Control/Regulation. South Torbia’s government, in particular its military, is heavily involved in the regulation and maintenance its global positioning infrastructure.

Electromagnetic Spectrum Management

South Torbia’s Electromagnetic Spectrum Management is similar to what it is in the U.S. as they reserve certain frequencies for government use. About five years ago, South Torbia auctioned off the frequencies from 3.5GHz and 28 GHz in order to for commercial countries to install 5G service. 5G penetration currently covers about 15% of the country with about a 5% increase each year as new 5G towers are being built. 5G is believed to be faster, cheaper, and better for the environment than previous communications networks. In the last year, South Torbia, following the lead of the U.S., also auctioned off the frequencies in the the 6 GHz band from 5925 to 7125 MHz for unlicensed services.

Control/Regulation. South Torbia aims to strictly regulate how the electromagnetic spectrum within its borders and territory. South Torbia is continuously competing with North Torbia over the use of certain frequencies, and attempts to ensure that unregulated signals that may come from North Torbia are not creating congestion.

Information Distribution

South Torbia’s public communications sector had been dominated by television over the last several decades. In recent years, however, as access to the internet has increases thanks to lower cost providers and advances in cellular and mobile technology. Today, the internet has made considerable inroads into this area, especially among more urban, young, and educated populations. While television, radio, and print media have a longer history within South Torbia, they have been rapidly supplanted by mobile technology. While South Torbia’s government censorship efforts focused on television, radio, and print are generally viewed as being permissive, official efforts to censor online content are almost non-existent.  The internet in general is less well monitored and controlled through official government regulations, leading to social media platforms becoming the preferred outlet for reporting of a wide array of uncensored and potentially unverified news and information.

Internet

Almost 43 million South Torbians—or over ninety percent of the South Torbian populace—use the internet on a daily basis. The internet in South Torbia is considered excellent by regional standards, even with an apparent digital divide between rural and urban areas. For the majority of South Torbians, both urban and rural, the internet has become an integral part of daily life at home, at work, and on the go. Many businesses and public spaces offer free access to Wi-Fi, and while it has not become a part of official public policy, many South Torbians have begun to consider access to the internet, and therefore information, to be a basic right. The use of social media platforms has exploded over recent years, with usage often crossing generational divides.

Infrastructure Support

Planning for the future includes the upgrade of infrastructure, increasing the internet broadband speed in rural areas to be raised from five megabits per second (Mbps) to 20Mbps and up to 100Mbps in urban areas after completion. While urban areas either have been or are receiving updated infrastructure designed to enable wide access to the internet, rural areas are more likely to be dependent upon mobile access to the internet. Non-mobile access to the internet in South Torbia is provided by four main Internet Service Providers. These four providers have very close associations with members of the government, ensuring any future developments will remain with them. The monopolizing of the service ensures that any outside business will fail trying to enter into the internet provider system.

Control/Regulation

Censorship and regulation of the internet falls under the purview of the Torbian Communications Standards Commission. The South Torbian government view is that as long as internet activity does not threaten South Torbian government interests, it is allowed. Anti-Defamation laws apply to websites in the same manner as they do for print media, however the degree of anonymity related to publishing information online, and utilization of foreign sources to create content makes these laws more difficult to enforce online.

Television

Television in South Torbia is the most mature and pervasive media, but with the introduction of the internet it is slowly declining, especially among the younger generation. Most South Torbians subscribe to digital cable, satellite or streaming services (Internet Protocol TV). There are two national cable networks, South Torbian Broadcasting System and the Manila Broadcasting Corporation, and over 50 local stations that cover the entire country. The Torbian Broadcasting System represents the largest and most widely available of the national networks. On average, cable and television services are relatively affordable, with annual costs being roughly equivalent to $40 USD a year. Satellite television is broadcast from a number of providers, many of whom originate from outside of South Torbia. In addition to the private networks, the South Torbian government operates a public broadcasting system that is focused on providing educational content. Approximately 20 million households own television sets so almost the entire populace has access to television. While not having a television used to preclude being able to watch televised content, the ability to stream content to mobile devices has substantially increased the number of South Torbians who regularly watch television shows.

Infrastructure Support

The physical infrastructure for terrestrial television broadcasting is still in use, however the growth in popularity of streaming television over the internet may impact future investments toward maintaining the terrestrial infrastructure.

Control/Regulation

Censorship and regulation of televised content falls under the purview of the Torbian Communications Standards Commission. Anti-Defamation laws apply to television broadcasts.

Radio

South Torbia dedicates a portion of its electromagnetic spectrum to the use of public and private radio stations on AM, FM, and shortwave bands. There are 61 AM, 130 FM and 2 shortwave stations operational in South Torbia. The top four radio networks are a combination of private and public broadcasters. Unlike with television, in South Torbia, registered broadcast stations that are privately owned are likely to have significant ownership links to the key government officials, and therefore may be unlikely to report adverse material about the government. The introduction of streaming services and satellite radio has created alternatives to traditional radio, enabling more South Torbians to gain access to a wider variety of information and media, and enabling them to become content creators (using podcasts), ultimately leading to a wider variety of perspectives on the “airwaves.”

Infrastructure Support

The infrastructure supporting the use of radio waves for information purposes is robust and modern. Traditional AM/FM broadcasting stations remain in use. The infrastructure support for both digital and satellite radio is continuing to grow as both forms of broadcasting continue to become more main stream.

Control/Regulation

Censorship and regulation of radio content falls under the purview of the Torbian Communications Standards Commission. Anti-Defamation laws apply to radio broadcasts.

Print

South Torbia maintains a remarkably large print media establishment, with over 30 national and local dailies available in a variety of languages. The South Torbian press benefits from the availability of a highly literate audience: the adult literacy rate is estimated to be over 98%. As a representation of freedom of speech, printed media is guaranteed by the constitution, and is thought to have played a large role in establishing a more democratic government. Many of the newspapers are owned by a conglomerate of wealthy industrial businesspersons who rely on large corporations for advertising revenues. The growing availability of online information sources has led to readers questioning the reliability of large corporate owned news sources.

Infrastructure Support

Despite the growth of online sources, South Torbia’s newspapers continue to distribute printed versions, however many have lowered the frequency with which they are published.  Almost all newspaper companies in South Torbia have an online presence.

Control/Regulation

The existence of defamation laws, and their associated punishments (prison sentences and monetary fines) prompts a degree of self-censorship by journalists. Print journalists in particular practice self-censorship due to the fact that they are more easily identified than online sources who maintain a degree of anonymity. Print journalists may also face direct pressure from the government on issues or topics considered politically sensitive in nature, such as national disasters, and how the government responds to such disasters.

Telephone/Telecommunications

The telephone infrastructure in South Torbia is one of the most advanced in the region. The continued advancements in speed and dependability of mobile services are outpacing the fixed main line infrastructure. There are currently over 30 million fixed main lines in use, mainly used by businesses and the government. Use of fixed main lines in homes is declining in popularity.

The number of mobile phone subscribers in South Torbia continues to grow each year, outpacing the fixed main line subscribers. There are currently over 60 million mobile phone subscribers, and subscriptions are expected to grow by five to ten percent each year. There are three main mobile phone service providers in South Torbia, with ST Telecom being the largest with over 55 percent of the business. With the younger generation relying more and more on mobile phone service, the mobile phone industry will only continue to grow in popularity and services. Cellular plans are available to the population as both prepaid contracts and also using SIM cards with pay as you go refillable/rechargable accounts.

Infrastructure Support

Fixed main lines are supported in the country by the use of seven submarine fiber optic cables connecting South Torbia with key regional countries, as well as satellite earth stations in major urban cities. South Torbia is slowly transitioning from fixed main line to internet Protocol telephone infrastructure for business and government telecommunications operations. Cellular towers are present throughout the country, however service may be of a lower quality in rural areas.

Control/Regulation

Personal use of mobile devices is not subject to regulation, however service providers are regulated by the government.

Postal/Courier

South Torbian postal and courier systems are well established, reliable, and capable of moving significant amounts of freight throughout the nation. There are two types of postal facilities in South Torbia: standard post offices and the larger distribution centers. Distribution centers offer a wider range of services for businesses than standard post offices do. Along with the South Torbian national postal system, international freight provider's local freight forwarders are well established throughout the nation.

Infrastructure Support

The postal services and private delivery services are present throughout urban areas, and make deliveries directly to the destination address.  In rural areas, it can be common for the postal services to drop off packages in a central location, either with the expectation that recipients will come to pick the package up, or that the local community will ensure its delivery to the final destination.

Control/Regulation

Postal and carrier services are regulated by the government, thanks in part, to their role in the finance industry (insurance and banking).

Oral Communication

Despite continued advances in information and communications technology, direct oral communication continues to play an extremely important role in the information environment. While direct communication cannot replicate the amount of information shared within the population, direct communication may carry a higher degree of reliability among the audience due to the amount of trust the audience may have already established with the sender. That said, while the quality of communication may be high, oral communication is limited in terms of how many people it can reach and by immediacy. A combination of the rise of the internet, mature TV and radio media, and widely available print media has made more traditional forms of communication less frequent, and frankly less effective for reaching larger audiences. The rise of text messaging first among youth—and increasingly among much of the rest of the population—is changing the dynamics of personal interaction. As social media platforms continue to evolve, word of mouth communication between South Torbians may become more important. As for now though, text, image, and short video loops have become the primary forms of expression for younger generations. The process of urbanization has broken down traditional community based networks, as families have moved to different cities. While urban South Torbians may be living closer to each other than ever before, there may actually be more distance between them (in terms of relationships).

Infrastructure Support

Not applicable

Control/Regulation

Anti-defamation laws apply to oral communication just the same as the apply to digital media, however they may be more difficult to enforce due to the fact that evidence of defamatory speech may be hard to prove.

Satellite

South Torbia possesses a wide range of satellite capabilities, with most suited for dual-use by the South Torbian military and for civilian purposes. Currently, South Torbia operates eight commercial telecommunications satellites utilizing Ku-band and Ka-band transponders in a geostationary orbit, all powered by solar array panels. Since these satellites are owned by South Torbian companies, they can be requisitioned by the military in times of emergency. Additionally, the South Torbian military operates three communication satellites using Ku and C band transponders. The satellites are in a geostationary orbit powered by solar array antenna. The South Torbian government also leases Ku, L, and SHF bandwidth from commercial satellite companies that support government and military operations as necessary.

Infrastructure Support

The South Torbian space monitoring system is located in Batangas, a medium size city on the southern coast. South Torbia chose the location as it is almost as close to the equator as possible and still be in South Torbia. If the space monitoring system ever needs to expand, Batangas has the workers and resources necessary to build additional infrastructure.

Control/Regulation

While the South Torbian government exercises regulatory control over satellites that are owned by South Torbian companies, there are also a number of satellite companies that offer communications services within South Torbian territory, but are not owned by South Torbians.

Internet of Things

South Torbia’s economic prosperity, and tech-forward population, has led to a near ubiquitous presence of interconnected digital products. In higher socio-economic areas, the idea of the “smart home” has taken grasp, with Wi-Fi and Blue Tooth enabled appliances that can be controlled using a smart phone. While not quite as overtly present, even lower socio-economic areas are inundated with smart technology. While higher quality things are designed with more protections, less expensive and more widely available products may have a number of vulnerabilities that could be exploited.  The internet of things also plays a role in public projects and newer infrastructure developments, with things as common place as traffic lights and street lights all being digitized and interrelated. The influence and impact of the internet of things on the daily lives of South Torbians can be seen in things as simple as a daily commute using one of the bus routes through a city: commuters can use their smart phones to identify where a specific bus may be on its route, estimate the times of arrival for each stop, and also see how much space may be available on each bus. All of this is enabled through smart phone apps to that are used to create user specific accounts, pay for passes, and use Blue Tooth and Wi-Fi when and where a rider gets on and off a bus.

Infrastructure Support

South Torbia’s government has recognized the potential that the convergence of smart technologies and public works has for streamlining urban development. Using real time analytics, empowered by machine learning, South Torbia is hoping to lower costs, reduce maintenance requirements, and overcome many of the challenges associated with rapid development and urbanization.

Control/Regulation

All of these technological advances also come with a degree of risk and vulnerability. South Torbia’s government has sought to regulate the security measures associated with the internet of things. As mentioned before, higher quality products come with more protections, while lower quality products may have increased vulnerabilities.  South Torbia’s government has sought to balance regulation to secure these systems with an economic desire to be at the forefront of technological advances.

Information Cohorts (Information Consumption)

Information cohorts should not be confused with organized groups and entities. Cohorts are grouped by shared traits, behaviors, and or beliefs regarding how they engage with information, but they are not a cohesive organizations. These are examples of cohorts that are found within South Torbia, however they are not the only information cohorts that exist. It is possible for an individual or group of individuals to be part of multiple information cohorts based upon how they identify themselves.

Cohort: Generational - Baby Boomers

Baby-Boomers consist of the generation of South Torbians born between 1946and 1965. While not a monolithic group by any means, the shared experiences of their generation have shaped their perspectives. The baby boomers generation represents the first generation to experience childhood and to come of age in a divided Torbia. As a result, their worldview is one that struggled to come to terms with the division of North and South Torbia being a permanent one. They were likely raised in an environment where reunification was a distinct possibility. Depending upon your perspective, this generation either represents the last traditionally Torbian generation or the first generation to break from tradition, either way their generation came of age during a cultural transition within South Torbia. The baby-boom generation played a critical role in the student protests which brought about the fall of the Third Republic and the increased democratization of the Fourth Republic. As young adults, this generation provided the workforce for the wave of economic growth and development that South Torbia experienced during the 80’s and 90’s, and they are also the generation that ushered in the beginning of the technology age.

Biases (positive, neutral, and negative)

Given the fact that they came of age during an era of democratization, economic growth, and technology development, Baby-Boomers in South Torbia often believe that the contributions to Torbian life that their generation made places them beyond reproach. Often times the biases held by this generation may seem to conflict with each other. As an example, they fairly view themselves as the generation that brought about cultural change, however, given that they are more closely linked to a unified Torbia than younger generations, they also view themselves as the torch-holders for Torbian cultural traditions, often protecting these traditions against the misguided attitudes of younger generations. When faced with the modern social movements of younger generations, Baby-boomers may tend to succumb to the rosy-retrospection cognitive bias which causes them to inaccurately recall past events.

Perceived Antagonist Cohorts

Baby Boomers in South Torbia often find themselves aligned with the aging Generation X population in their general disdain for the millennial population. They often view millennials and zoomers as being ungrateful toward any sacrifices made by Baby Boomers. Additionally, they are more likely to categorize characteristics and behaviors of millennials in a negative light. Their disdain for millennials may be well deserved however, as often times millennials just don’t seem to care about the important aspects of life.

Media Engagement/Perception

While many modern information and communication technologies were developed by members of this generation, the generation as a whole is less likely to engage with or adapt to the capabilities of new technology. While they may embrace new technology, like the smartphone, their usage is often limited by their previous experiences with mobile phones, and they may be less likely to adopt new applications for mobile devices.  As the information age continues to evolve and enable more sources of information to disseminate their views, some – but not all – baby boomers in south Torbia are more likely to trust more traditional sources of information.

Presence/Activity in Cyberspace

As late adopters of Social Media, Baby Boomers might be best described as pragmatic social media users. They are more likely to prefer straightforward social media accounts over trendy social media platforms that may be more content specific (ie a preference for Facebook over Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok). In the respect, they are very similar to many people from Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980) and some older millennials. While not exactly a law of nature, South Torbians, like many other technology engaged populations, often seem to lose interest in new trends at some point in their mid-30s. Baby Boomers using social media platforms may be susceptible to finding themselves in echo-chambers, or information silos due to the fact that they their opinions, views, and beliefs may already be firmly established and may not be actively seeking alternative perspectives.

Cohort: Generational - Millenials and Zoomers (Generation Z)

While Millenials (born between 1981 and 1996) and Zoomers (born between 1997 and 2012) are technically two separate generations they are often lumped together. Both generations have come of age in a South Torbia that was democratically free, economically, stable, and seemingly disconnected from North Torbia. They have spent almost their entire lives using mobile technology and exploring the internet. Their grandparents may have some childhood memories of a unified Torbia, but for many millennials and zoomers unification just isn’t an issue on their radar. As a result of being two or more generations removed from what some consider traditional Torbian culture, and being the first generation to grow up with a truly global access to information, many younger South Torbians may feel that they have more in common with their peers from other nations than they have with older generations of Torbians.

Biases (positive, neutral, and negative)

While millennials and zoomers may have come of age with greater access to information, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they are more open to information. Coming of age with almost limitless access to information has led to some younger Torbians developing identities based upon their opinions or views rather than their experiences. Opinion-based pop-culture movements can be rapidly amplified by social media influencers, gaining a near pervasive presence among the daily lives of millenials and zoomers, and then be almost immediately discarded. This creates a media/pop-culture cycle that is always evolving, and lends itself toward recency bias that older generations may attribute to a lack of focus.

Perceived Antagonist Cohorts

Older generations are naturally perceived as either being antagonistic, or just not aware of what is going on within the younger population.

Media Engagement/Perception

Younger Torbians have been engaged with a variety of media for their entire lives. As a result they tend to be extremely engaged in the development and consumption of digital media. They are quick to adopt new trends within media engagement. While external observers might perceive their willingness to adopt new trends as being flighty, the fact remains that the overarching trend of high media engagement and technology reliance among these generations has remained steady.

Presence/Activity in Cyberspace

Millenials and Zoomers within South Torbia are likely to be heavily networked into a variety of social media platforms, and engaged within digital forums that touch one nearly every aspect of daily life. While they may not be dependent upon the internet, it is safe to say their ability to engage with others, and to engage with information plays an extremely significant role within their lives.

Cohort: Non-Mainstream (Minority) Torbians

This group typifies what it means to be an information cohort, as there is no primary group identifier beyond consisting of Torbians that do not view themselves as part of the mainstream identity, and therefore may consider themselves as outsiders. Torbian culture, society, and identity promotes a very structured view of what is acceptable and what may be less acceptable.  While South Torbian’s are generally very forward thinking, open, and democratic, the society is still very Torbian-centric.  Therefore any group of people who are not easily identified as being part of the broad collection of “mainstream” Torbians, have the potential to be included within this information cohort. These are the proverbial “them” when mainstream Torbians have “us-versus-them” discussions or perspectives.  These include migrants, religious minorities, individuals and groups found on the extremes of the political spectrum, and the poor who either are not viewed as contributing to society or viewed as being dependent upon others. This cohort may be broken down into numerous other, more specific cohorts.

Biases (positive, neutral, and negative)

As described, perhaps the most significant characteristic of this information cohort is the prevalence of in-group and out-group biases. In general this group is made up of those peoples that are generally thought of at the out-group within South Torbia, however it is in reality a collection of out-groups, who share the common feature of not being typical South Torbians. As a result of these implicit biases, this cohort tends to engage with information in an insular manner, trusting information sources that they can relate to, or that may have shared interests with them. Biases within this cohort tend to be defensive or reactionary as a result of being primarily made up of minority groups.

Perceived Antagonist Cohorts

The obvious antagonist cohorts are those South Torbians who believe that they fit within the culturally accepted definition of what it means to be a Torbian. While this cohort is extremely diverse, both in thought and identity, it is not unheard of for different groups to perceive transgressions or abuses against a single group by the main-stream Torbians as being an aggression against all non-mainstream Torbians.

Media Engagement/Perception

Despite often having their differences spelled out for them, non-mainstream Torbians engage with main-stream media sources in the same manner as other Torbians. The difference lies in how they perceive the information and how they react. In many cases the non-mainstream Torbians engage in positive discourse with the rest of the public, and can be the drivers of social change. However, there is also a risk that these typically insular communities may, by their very nature, be more susceptible to information being manipulated in a many that causes unpredictable reactions. It is important to note that reactions within these out-groups can be the result of either real or perceived injustices by mainstream Torbians, regardless of the intent of the mainstream Torbians.

• Ex. If a new article highlights the lack of employment opportunities in Torbian Muslim areas, working aged males in those areas may be more susceptible to narratives that further separate them from Torbian society, and place them at increased risk for radicalization.

Presence/Activity in Cyberspace

Non-mainstream Torbians share many commonalities with mainstream Torbians in regard to how they engage with digital forums and cyberspace. They are just like typical South Torbians, who may look to digital forums to discuss political or socially sensitive topics that they might otherwise not discuss in public. The difference though, is that non-mainstream South Torbians may be more adept at utilizing closed forums, which reflect the insular nature of their communities.

Information Suppression

South Torbia’s constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech precludes the ability of the government to directly control the information environment. As a result, the government finds itself in a steady state of competition for influence both domestically and internationally, against state and non-state actors alike. The government uses a soft approach to shaping the information environment, seeking to use what legal tools it can to inhibit troublesome narratives, and suppress information that it believes to be harmful to the nation or to its leaders. Faced with the complexities of a multipolar world, the South Torbian government also often relies upon its people to self-censor based upon cultural norms. To date, the government’s soft censorship efforts have succeeded in shaping the information environment, however with the increasing popularity of an ever changing forum of social media platforms, there are more competing narratives being injected into the information environment than ever before.

Government Censorship

South Torbia’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the freedom of the press. As a result, South Torbia’s information environment is varied and diverse. The government is unable to directly suppress sources of information unless the information is associated with illegal activities. As a result, the majority of government efforts to censor or suppress opposing views is focused on providing its own narrative or counter narrative. Government led censorship has evolved over the last few decades, whereas at one point the military leadership actively suppressed opposition and negative views of the government, now the free press is expected to investigate and uncover government corruption. While multiple scandals have been uncovered in recent years, existing anti-defamation laws inhibit open challenges to public figures unless evidence of claims is readily available.

Public (popular) Censorship

Public – or popular – censorship is a phenomena that exerts force within South Torbia every single day. In line with the cultural norms of the country, South Torbians will generally try to be respectful of others. This means that public discourse on contentious topics is unlikely to occur in the open. While based on a cultural norm, this restriction is a form of censorship that limits the amount of political and social discourse among average South Torbians. This doesn’t necessarily mean that these types of discussions don’t happen, it just means that South Torbian’s are adept holding discreet conversations within trusted circles, and when new information or perspectives do surface into the public sphere is likely already has some degree of popular support. Over the last several years, the ability to publish views anonymously online and to use social media has led to more open public discourse on important matters, however this is limited to online forums.

Non-Government Entity Censorship

There is relatively little censorship by non-governmental organizations within South Torbia. Groups and organizations are more likely to seek to manipulate information in order to change a narrative than they are to seek to completely suppress information.

Cyberspace

Most South Torbians under the age of 40 have grown up in the tele-communications age and are comfortable with computers, digital devices, and operating in cyberspace. Many of those over 40 have limited knowledge of cyberspace and often only do what is necessary to conduct business. As these older South Torbians retire, the percent of the workers comfortable with operating within cyber space will only increase.

Strengths

One of the strengths is the willingness of young South Torbians to accept working in cyber space as standard operating practices. Those under 40 have been on a computer since almost birth. The willingness of the South Torbian government to open up frequencies in the 5G and 6G range will only increase the availability of the spectrum available for business to flourish in the country.

Vulnerabilities

The more reliant a country or business is on cyberspace, the more that the company is vulnerable to attack from hackers. North Torbia is alleged to have conduct cyber-attacks against South Torbian civilian companies and government computer systems as well. Of course, North Torbia denies these claims. Due to the restrictive environment in North Torbia, where the general public is not allowed to access the Internet, many of these hackers operate in other countries such as Olvana and Donovia.

OE Specific Challenges

South Torbia computers use a keyboard with the Torbian symbolic letters on them. This could create a challenge for U.S. forces trying to work with South Torbian government and military forces, but Google translate seems to do an adequate job translating into English. 

The South Torbian population’s reliance on an ‘internet-of-things’ creates a unique set of considerations for military operations. Under normal conditions, a functioning internet of things can be vulnerable to attack, though it would likely be a localized effort that would not damage the entire system. During a conflict, the domino effect of a single attack has the potential to create unforeseen challenges in the event that South Torbia’s ‘internet-of-things’ ceases to function.