It used to be our word against yours. It used to be said—correctly—that the patrolman on the beat on any American police force was the last perfect tyranny. Absent a herd of reliable witnesses, there were things he could do to deny you your freedom or kick your ass that were between him, you, and the street. The smartphone with its small, digital camera, is a revolution in civil liberties.
— David Simon, creator/producer/writer of The Wire, in an interview with Vice
If anything, the Internet makes it harder, not easier, to get people to care, if only because the alternatives to political action are so much more pleasant and risk-free. This doesn’t mean that we in the West should stop promoting unfettered (read: uncensored) access to the Internet; rather, we need to find ways to supplant our promotion of a freer Internet with strategies that can engage people in political and social life.
— Evgeny Morozov, The Net Delusion (2011): 75
Morozov
No one — whether government or corporate — should control free open access to the Internet.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, announcing a new policy that will treat the Internet as a utility.
“It’s time to recognize the Internet as a basic human right. That means guaranteeing affordable access for all, ensuring Internet packets are delivered without commercial or political discrimination, and protecting the privacy and freedom of Web users regardless of where they live.”
— Tim Berners-Lee, the computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web
Berners-Lee
E-residency is a form of supranational digital identity issued, for the first time, by a country. It’s the online self, now with a government imprimatur.
— Estonia has become the first country to issue an officially recognized digital identity
The Facebook Election
Facebook is on the cusp — and I suspect 2016 will be the year this becomes clear — of replacing television advertising as the place where American elections are fought and won.
For the study, news articles that Facebook users’ friends had posted appeared higher in their feeds — the stream of status updates, photos and articles that show up when you first sign on to the site. The researchers wanted to see whether increasing your exposure to news stories shared by friends before an election would convince you to vote.
Even after all the reforms President Obama has announced, some intelligence practices remain so secret, even from members of Congress, that there is no opportunity for our democracy to change them.
Washington Post: “Meet Executive Order 12333: The Reagan rule that lets the NSA spy on Americans”
NSA Campus in Fort Meade
Austin Was Built to Be Segregated
“In the face of the numbers, Austin falls right back in line: a rich Texas town that holds on to its whiteness for dear life.”
— via Vice
East Avenue c. 1952 & prior to the construction of I-35
Arguing The Digital Divide 