[liberationtech] IGP Blog :: Technology as symbol: Is resistance to surveillance technology being misdirected?

Mon Dec 26 10:54:10 PST 2011

*But very few technologies are constructed so as to be only usable for
crime and repression*

This point--from Mueller's post--is precisely why the blind run at
regulation is so problematic.

On Mon, Dec 26, 2011 at 6:39 AM, Evgeny Morozov <evgeny.morozov at gmail.com>wrote:

> He's now published Part 2 - even more provocative
>
> http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/12/26/4966131.html
>
>
> On Saturday, December 24, 2011, Jillian C. York <jilliancyork at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> > I agree with much (but not all) of Mueller's post.  A lot of the
> conversation around regulation in the US is terribly misguided and ignores
> how poorly export controls have functioned in respect to technology (ask
> just about any Syrian technologist, prevented from downloading Google Earth
> or taking the LSATs in-country due to outdated Commerce and OFAC regs).
> >
> > That said, I think there's a moral argument for targeting American (or
> Canadian, or German, or insert-your-country-here) companies.  Sure, if
> Cisco stops selling to China, China will just look elsewhere, but as
> citizens of a given country, why should we tolerate publicly traded
> companies selling to authoritarian regimes?  I believe a combined advocacy
> effort (boycott, targeting shareholders, etc) is necessary, but I don't
> believe regulations will solve the problem.
> >
> > Finally, his final quote ("But activists concerned with real social
> change must think through this problem more deeply, and come up with
> strategies that strike more directly at the pillars of authoritarianism,
> censorship and arbitrary power, rather than lashing out at easy domestic
> targets." ...) is a cheap shot and assumes that many of the most dedicated
> organizations working on this cause aren't doing anything else.  Many of
> the groups that are most involved in this effort (including EFF, Access,
> RSF, and numerous others) have taken a multi-pronged approach to
> authoritarian censorship.  If the statement is directed at politicians,
> fine, I'd probably agree, but if not, I think he lacks an understanding of
> the current landscape.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Dec 24, 2011 at 11:00 AM, Evgeny Morozov <
> evgeny.morozov at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I was reading Bloomberg's excellent account of Tunisia's Ammar 404
> project and came upon this interesting nugget that concerns the author of
> the blog post in question: apparently, Milton Mueller has a two-year
> National Science Foundation grant to study deep packet inspection, with a
> focus on China and Iran (more on this here). There is nothing nefarious
> about it but it surely adds some context to the views he expresses.
> >
> > On Thu, Dec 22, 2011 at 10:22 PM, Katrin Verclas <
> katrin at mobileactive.org> wrote:
> >
> > I knew you were going to hit back (though I expected a bit harder :)
>  Anyone rebut this in an actual blog post or other written piece? Not
> finding anything but he has a point in his argument that simplistic
> measures can truly backfire... (I am reminded of the conflict mobile
> mineral disaster...)
> >
> >
> > On Dec 21, 2011, at 6:09 PM, Andre Rebentisch wrote:
> >
> >> Am 21.12.2011 19:04, schrieb Katrin Verclas:
> >>> Some interesting questions raised here about advocacy efforts re.
> surveillance tech. Main point: it's complicated and we need a more nuanced
> conversation about our collective advocacy goals.
> >>>
> >>> Brett, Eric, Jacob and all - discuss..
> >>>
> >>>
> http://blog.internetgovernance.org/blog/_archives/2011/12/20/4962713.html
> >>
> >> "First, we need to stop pretending that a specific type of technology
> >> and a few commercial vendors can be vested with responsibility for an
> >> entire societal system of repression and control."
> >>
> >> Another Milton Mueller: "You can only ban behaviors, i.e. specific uses,
> >> not "capabilities.""
> >>
> >> All this is, understood, 199x cyber-libertarian ideology, but has
> >> nothing to do with tightening export controls crn consulting services
> >> for surveillance and military capabilities of dictatorial regimes.
> >>
> >> Ironically, Art 41 UN Charta provides for sanctions limiting
> >> telecommunication while the current debate is centered around the exact
> >> opposite.
> >>
> >> --- A
> >
> >
> > Katrin Verclas
> > MobileActive.org
> > katrin at mobileactive.org
> >
> > skype/twitter: katrinskaya
> > (347) 281-7191
> >
> > Check out the new Mobile Media Toolkit at
> > http://mobilemediatoolkit.org. To "Making Media Mobile!"
> >
> > A global network of people using mobile technology for social impact
> > http://mobileactive.org
> >
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> > --
> > jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork | tel: +1-857-891-4244 | google voice:
> +1-415-562-JILL
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
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-- 
jilliancyork.com | @jilliancyork | tel: +1-857-891-4244 | google voice:
+1-415-562-JILL
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