Our privacy is being exploited commercially by the oligopoly of Silicon Valley,and in the name of national security by our governments. With so little control over our online lives, how can we reclaim the balance?When Tim Wu published his influential book Master Switch in 2010, and he powerfully argued that all communications markets began with a period of creative openness and experimentation,yet within 20 years settled into some sort of state-regulated oligopoly. The internet, Wu proclaimed hopefully, or could be different because most internet giants “profess an awareness of their awesome powers and some sense of attendant duty to the public”.
Five years on,and it is fitting increasingly obvious that the web is now ruled by oligopolies, and that attempted state intervention is heavier than ever. Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com