The dawn of the internet promised a more democratic and connected world. Tech philosopher Cory Doctorow returns us to this vision in his new novel, ”Picks and Shovels.”
The net that exists today is more than the fault of the wealthy.
“It’s to stop terrorism”
“It’s to stop pedophiles”
“It’s to protect children”
With this, the World Wide Web turned into the Widely Watched Web.
“This should be taken down as it is offensive”
“Fake news, take it down or face a lawsuit”
“This offends me, take it down”
The technologies used to surveil were been put to work with the intent to suppress. The web became a set of clustered strands.
“I own this, take it down”
“You do not have the rights to this, take it down”
“Protect the artists, don’t share or repost”
And so the net was colonised, centralised, and conquered. Monetisation is the lifeblood of the net now, and so it shall remain. A few threads thrumming with echo chambers, built to move money over ideas.
If you ever met people who had been the victim of a child trafficking ring you’d change your mind about some of those things. I’m happy to give up some freedoms for that because those predators are worse than the government. You just can’t see it from a place of privilege.
Here’s a thought - has it actually stopped them? Or, has it just driven it out of sight and out of the minds of moralists? Did it solve the problem, or did it just strip folks of privacy?
I can prove the latter has happened, can you prove the former?
The net that exists today is more than the fault of the wealthy.
“It’s to stop terrorism”
“It’s to stop pedophiles”
“It’s to protect children”
With this, the World Wide Web turned into the Widely Watched Web.
“This should be taken down as it is offensive”
“Fake news, take it down or face a lawsuit”
“This offends me, take it down”
The technologies used to surveil were been put to work with the intent to suppress. The web became a set of clustered strands.
“I own this, take it down”
“You do not have the rights to this, take it down”
“Protect the artists, don’t share or repost”
And so the net was colonised, centralised, and conquered. Monetisation is the lifeblood of the net now, and so it shall remain. A few threads thrumming with echo chambers, built to move money over ideas.
If you ever met people who had been the victim of a child trafficking ring you’d change your mind about some of those things. I’m happy to give up some freedoms for that because those predators are worse than the government. You just can’t see it from a place of privilege.
Oh my, one in the wild…
Here’s a thought - has it actually stopped them? Or, has it just driven it out of sight and out of the minds of moralists? Did it solve the problem, or did it just strip folks of privacy?
I can prove the latter has happened, can you prove the former?
You ask that question as if you’ve never heard of a trafficking ring being busted via their own comms channel.
You state your reply as if the current regime of mass surveillance was an essential component to such a bust.