There is always the simple argument of ‘If I’m not doing anything unusual why should I care who is looking at my data?’ which closely follows the notion of Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the giant behemoth known as Google.
There are several issues here that people do not adequately understand. The reason education is such a powerful tool is that once people become knowledgable, it becomes impossible to fool them. Knowledge is a form of power, and its counter is oppression. Bearing all this in mind, I will proceed with my statements.
Firstly, the constant and incorrect usage of the internet has allowed information asymmetry to proliferate; the direct result being that of a moral hazard and a high user agency cost. We should not allow any entity the means to uphold such an omniscience position.
Secondly, the internet is a tool for everyone and should not be controlled, monitored, and regulated by any certain organization. We should not allow any entity the means to uphold such an omnipotent position.
Thirdly, we are utilizing a frame work of the industrial age and trying to adapt the internet to it. It won’t happen. The internet will change our framework, and there are entities attempting to delay the transition. This means that a new framework will have to understand how the internet has changed our habits and adapt to that; industries and litigation will have to be reassessed and altered to our preference as users and customers.
Fourthly, we must understand that there are those fighting for our benefit and those who are oppressing us, and unfortunately the current framework deludes us into supporting the unscrupulous bankers, inane politicians, conniving entrepreneurs, cynical academics. The more we support them and use their services the more we are harming and allowing others to harm those fighting for us.
The year of the financial crisis, bankers got their highest paid bonuses; today, measures of extreme austerity is enacted throughout Europe, resulting in debt deflation, and bankruptocracy.
Politics has become a career, rather than a rotation of representatives. People in power vote to give themselves benefits and remain in these position whether presidential or parliamentary.
I want to take a minute to talk about Peter ‘brokep’ Sunde. He was a spokesperson for The Pirate Bay. He was the only individual allowing funds to reach Wikileaks. He created a service called Flattr which allows users to donate to content creators on the internet, regardless of the form of content; anything from youtube videos to free and open source software. He is currently working on a secure instant messaging application called Hemlis for mobile devices. He was also running for the European parliament representing the Pirate Party.
Brokep can’t do that anymore; he has been imprisoned for charges regarding the Pirate Bay in which he must serve jail time and compensate millions for copyright infringement. Brokep has been in political exile for the past few years.
We are jailing the wrong people; brokep and others like him need your support. The rabbit hole goes beyond the simple argument stated at the start of this article. Intertwined with economic corruption, political benefit, and rent seeking behavior conducted by lobbyists, the internet is on its way to imminent tyranny.
It’s time to actually be aware and understand how our daily life is governed both online and off, by who, and the reasons for that. It’s time to actually take control of our usage, and understand our right of choice, the right that is soon going to become a privilege lest we wise up.
Data has become a valuable currency, and user data is commodified. User data has been degraded, due to users treating these companies as benign public services; they aren’t.
Note: The point of this post is not to rally a crusade, I don’t believe that ideas should be motivated by hatred. I sincerely believe that benevolence is a catalyst for evolution.
