Is Internet, cryptography, decentralized finance (Bitcoin/blockchain), decentralized law and decentralized production (like 3D-printing) the way to a new, wealthy society? (Direct link to the video »)
Archive | Internet
And now, the game will change…
Earlier this summer, The Telegraph ran a very long and extremely interesting piece by Matthew Sparkes: The coming digital anarchy »
If you didn’t read it, please do. If you did, read it again. It points out a concept that the general public knows practically nothing about, that might change society and our lives in a dramatic way: blockchain.
Already a blockchain based digital currency, Bitcoin, is making payments on the internet (and in the real world) easy, fast and cheap. We might not need banks in the future. And if you think that is a game changer, consider what will happen when governments no longer are in control of money — with no possibility to inflate it and with limited ways to confiscate it or enforce taxation.
Sparkes gives us many other examples on the use of blockhain based processes. To take just a few examples, it might be used for safe cloud services or to distribute the voters democratic mandate to more than just one political candidate. The possibilities seems to be endless.
Now, to get to my point…
Technology solutions such as blockchain will re-distribute and decentralize power in society in a spontaneous and disruptive way.
Big Government and Big Business will not be amused.
The copyright wars, the fight over mass surveillance and the forceful pushing of a square plug into a round hole during the €uro crisis… All of that will be nothing compared to what will take place when the ruling classes realize that they are losing their grip, losing their power over others and that their models for how to do things are to be obsolete.
Some of these dinosaurs will not even understand what’s going to hit them. Or that it is happening right now.
The only way for them to save status quo might be to severely restrict the free flow of information on the Internet.
On top of this we should keep in mind that the ruling classes have their own armed wing with the right to use force to uphold Order–the police.
So finally, we might actually find out what will happen when an unstoppable force meets an gigantic immovable object.
/ HAX
The ACTA demon rises. Again. And again. And again…
Two years ago European Parliament killed ACTA, the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
The main reason was that ACTA promoted the concept that internet service providers (ISP:s) should police the internet to stop intellectual property infringements (i.e. illegal filesharing of music, film, games and software).
Such practice would be in conflict with the principle that ISP:s are not liable for what their customers (ordinary users) do when using their services. This principle is called “mere conduit” and is regulated in the EU E-Commerce Regulations of 2002.
In the same way the Post Office is not liable for what people send in the mail. This is a very reasonable principle.
If ISP:s where to police what is going on in their cables, they would have to inspect and scrutinize all internet traffic. (E.g. by deep packet inspections.) This would include everything we do online. Everything.
This would be a gigantic and very expensive task. And it would force ISP:s to set up extremely comprehensive terms and conditions for users.
And, of course, this would obstruct free flow of information and curb Internet freedom in an unacceptable way.
So it was a very good thing that the European Parliament killed ACTA. (After widespread public protests.)
But ACTA is not really dead. Every now and then the idea that ISP:s should police the Internet pops up. The intellectual property industry never fails to lobby for it.
The issue will be back on the agenda as the EU rewrites its package of copyright rules 2014-2019. (There might also be a revision of the EU E-Commerce Regulations.) And it seems to return in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership treaty, TTIP.
And right now Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation wants to hold Australian ISP:s responsible for piracy.
This is an ongoing battle, maybe a never ending one. To kill ACTA was an important victory for a free and open Internet. But we must be aware that the IP industry has no intentions of giving up their lobby efforts to get various ACTA clones into legislation and international trade agreements.
/ HAX