Edward Snowden – with his new book out – is raising the volume of his voice. I wonder: what are the implications of what he is saying for the future Internet, if any?
Consider the radicality of what he is saying. If everyone were to adopt his advice, the vast majority of today’s Internet businesses would become unviable in their current form. Also, most business done online since 1993 is ethically bankrupt. It’s quite a yes/no proposition!
Will his argument be waved off as unrealistic? Or are times a-changing, with the future Internet shaping up to reform some of the ways of the current one?
The first many years of my life online were spent in a world where everything was direct pay. It was all by consent and there was no spying at all. The trade-info-for-service via advertising that changed all that. Until that changes, it is realistic to think that any meaningful change away from “predation” will occur?
I think the EC would love nothing more than to have a (European) human-centered internet service win in the marketplace. But realistically, is that possible? News sites are charging for their content again. But even via a paywall, who is to say there will be no spying of some kind? You would have to walk away from a revenue stream.
