Electronic Frontier Foundation held a Live Discussion
today, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, on the Election’s Effect on Digital Rights,link. It was conducted by International
Director Danny O’Brien and activism director Rainey Reitman, in San Francisco.
EFF has a check list of problems tech companies need
to fix, “before it’s too late”, here.
The biggest concern expressed in the discussion was
that tech companies have built up a “honeypot” of personal data that a Trump
administration could coerce from companies, or even try to force tech workers
to mine with spyware.
O'Brien also expressed an abstract concern, with no details, about the likely loss of network neutrality, which I discussed on my Net Neutrality blog on Nov. 11. Note the concern over the possibility of providers charging publishers to access their networks, which gets discussed there in comments with respect to porn (on a Washington Post article). There is concern over conflicts of interest in ownership arrangements and mergers between tech companies and content or media providers, as well as effective government-sanctioned monopoly in some cities. Libertarians see more competition as the alternative to net neutrality. Consumers and some small businesses do benefit from "legitimate" access speed premium for-pay services sometimes.
O'Brien also expressed an abstract concern, with no details, about the likely loss of network neutrality, which I discussed on my Net Neutrality blog on Nov. 11. Note the concern over the possibility of providers charging publishers to access their networks, which gets discussed there in comments with respect to porn (on a Washington Post article). There is concern over conflicts of interest in ownership arrangements and mergers between tech companies and content or media providers, as well as effective government-sanctioned monopoly in some cities. Libertarians see more competition as the alternative to net neutrality. Consumers and some small businesses do benefit from "legitimate" access speed premium for-pay services sometimes.
I did submit two questions, but the panel did not take
up the fake news issue or censorship or downstream liability. The discussion did mention the threats by
Trump (and even Clinton) last December to shut down some parts of the Internet
to cut off ISIS recruiting. But there is
a general sense that a lot of people are willing to give up freedom over “Russian
roulette” theories of existential threats to safety.
But EFF issued a white paper on censorship by social
media companies today (see Book Reviews blog).
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