Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/10/06/democratic-technology.html
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I wish they had been more clear in what should be the first principle here: your personal data, including all information recorded about you, belongs only to you. With that as a central tenet most of the other issues (transparency, privacy, control, notification) will be resolved in the proper manner.
The atmosphere of Net Neutrality, increased competition and accountability will follow logically, because social media companies like Facebook, telcos like Verizon, and authoritarian governments can’t operate as abusively as they currently do under those terms.
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Realistically…
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This is fantastic. Does anybody believe conservatives would ever dare to create such legislation? There is a world of difference between the Dem’s and Progressives and the GOP and conservatives. One group wants the average working person to have a piece of the pie and viable future, the other wants a dystopian future run by moneyed interests and religious/political fascism.
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Yeah, well it ain’t gonna happen if some people keep checking the box with the ‘R’ next to the name in the ballot box. Did you know the largest caucus in the House is the Blue Progressive Caucus? Ever hear of the 'People’s Budget? Most likely not because the media shuts it down and the public is locked out. Why does the media shut it down? Because conservatives have been in control for so long they have manipulated the system for their benefit, by changing anti-trust laws, allowing media to be conglomerated into only a few sources, which are run by… you got it… conservatives. Also, let’s not forget about the FCC and now the SCOTUS. I can’t even go to read my usual political blogs because I can’t bear to see the final vote on SCOTUS. Once it’s done, they will have decision making power for the next two generation in the judicial branch. So, good luck with all that.
He gets uglier everyday doesn’t he?
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But they can still use personal data to censor “trolls” and “bots”, right?
"(8) to have access to multiple viable, affordable internet platforms, services and providers with clear and transparent pricing; "
Well, yeah. How exactly is it planned to force four three two one company to run fiber to our semi rural, hilltop street with twelve houses on it?
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Now we have to get rid of the GOP and put it in place.
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Cynicism aside (which is understandable given how effed everything is), this is exactly the conversation we need to be having. Democracy doesn’t function on the same modes of communication it did 200 years ago, and we need to revisit exactly what it means to be an informed citizen that makes choices w.r.t. policy (whether it’s through representation or other means). The internet shows incredible promise to reshape how we govern / are governed, but it also is under assault by the same old powers (and new ones) that have figured out how to game the system for fun and profit. Being able to succinctly say what we think the web should be and implementing protections towards these ideas is a good first step, but of course I think we need to go far beyond that.
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It’s unpossible- never, ever could have happened.
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True, but the people helped by that New Deal programme weren’t middle-class rugged individualists who’d sooner accept the wise decision of a corporation to deny them a full utility than they would accept being treated like poors by the bad ol’ state.
Libertarians are such king-sized all-day suckers.
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Nonsense. They midwived themselves and immediately invented tens of thousands of years of human culture to support themselves all by their lonelies.
Language was a bitch without anyone else to talk to - but they just bought more bootstraps.
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The REA was a great thing and I’m all for it, but the last I noticed, I only have one electric company, and have no more control over its services or pricing than I do my one ISP.
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That’s pretty cool.
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