Tagged: regulation

Astonishingly important article by Evgeny Morozov

FireShot Screen Capture #164 - 'Why the internet of things could destroy the welfare state I Technology I The Observer' - www_theguardian_com_technology_2014_jul_20_rise-of-data-death-of-politics-evgeny-morozov-algorThis is an astonishingly important article, by Evgeny Morozov, published yesterday in The Observer.  It starts to paint the picture of the world of the algorithm, drawing together the important themes that define what it is we need to be thinking and talking about so that we don’t sleep-walk into this new world – the paradoxical world where an individual’s connectedness (to other indivduals and to things) is used as a mechnism of isolation and control.

As I have said previously, the algorithm is the most powerful instrument of social control invented since the sword (and current systems of regulation are powerless against it).

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/sword-printing-press-and-algorithm-three-technologies-changed-world

http://richardstacy.com/2014/05/15/algorithms-growth-sensorship/

http://richardstacy.com/2014/06/27/facebook-just-dark-pool/

 

 

 

How do you regulate social media? Do you regulate social media?

Last week I had an interesting experience, presenting at a workshop on regulating digital media.  (My presentation is here, for those interested).

The folks attending were, in large part, those to whom Government (in its various iterations) has decided it falls to Do Something about the regulation of social media.  However the real problem they have, as I saw it, is that the current model of regulation just doesn’t work in social media.  This is because the current model relies on the fact that information is always married to an institutionalised means of distribution and this means of distribution is both the dominant partner in this relationship and can be regulated.  However, social media is all about the liberation of information from a particular means of distribution and therefore the means of distribution (the media) has ceased to be a gatekeeper through which we can control information.

Here is an example, drawn from some of the case studies discussed.  A nightclub in Belgium was running a party called French Kiss.  Continue reading →

Who says the web is wild?

I recently received an invite to this event organised by the Westminster eForum – a group within the UK House of Parliament.  It describes its agenda thus:

This seminar will offer a platform for debate on how best to approach internet regulation.

Earlier this year the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP described the internet as ‘lawless’.

The internet is often over shadowed by its ‘darker side’. The ability of users to post content online has led to some of the most innovative and popular services such as Facebook, eBay and YouTube but also to inappropriate images, internet scams and illegal file-sharing. How can the UK protect internet users without stifling their creativity?

I want to challenge the fundamental assumption that lies behind this (and that frequently goes unchallenged) – that the internet is wild and lawless.  Continue reading →