The privacy bargain | The Stream - Al Jazeera English

[View the story "Cory Doctorow" on Storify]

Storified by The Stream? Mon, Feb 25 2013 11:05:47

Cory Doctorow, a Canadian born author and journalist, is?renowned for his?science-fiction books?Homeland, Little Brother, and For The Win, among others. He is also the co-editor of BoingBoing, a blogging platform covering a wide range of topics.?Doctorow is a self-proclaimed "techno-optimist".??

Techno-optimism is an ideology that embodies the pessimism and the optimism above: the concern that technology could be used to make the world worse, the hope that it can be steered to make the world better.locusmag.com

Techno-optimism leads to Doctorow's?criticisms of Digital Rights Mangement?(DRM), "which is used to restrict the way you use the media you buy, such as ebooks, videos, and games". The set of rules were introduced as a way to deter users from illegally downloading products.?

In this video, he uses the current music business model as an example to show the short-sighted nature of using DRM to sustain business.

Cory Doctorow "Digital Rights Management" (Lift06 EN)Lift Conference

defectivebydesign.org

Here, Vimeo user?Vriti Mehra?asks viewers to "say no to digital rights management":

Digital Rights ManagementVriti Mehra

The videos below show the rapid increase of online networks:

Internet Statistics 2012kpimarket

The World of Social Media in 2012socialmediaunwrapped

In an interview with BoingBoing, Doctorow shares what he thinks the internet could turn into if pro-DRM policies continue:

Boing Boing Berlin - Cory Doctorow Interviewwatchberlin

Doctorow says DRM can also run in the form of programs that are hidden to the primary user, or owner, of a computer and override the owner's decisions. He believes this should be considered a violation of human rights.?

In the AtGoogleTalk below, he explains his position using the example of prosthetic limbs.

Cory Doctorow: "The Coming Civil War over General-purpose Computing", Talks at GoogleAtGoogleTalks

The use of personal data by corporations is another issue that concerns Doctorow. While hosting the TEDxObserver talk below, he details how sites like Facebook train users to "undervalue privacy".?

TEDxObserver - Cory Doctorowtedxtalks

In the talk above, Doctorow touches upon the importance of teaching kids how to protect their privacy in an era of network connectivity. In the interview below, he talks about network education and techniques he uses with his own child:

Cory Doctorow on Kids And The Impact Of Technologytvoparents

Netizens share their concerns with increasing difficulty to maintain privacy online:

This is why we need #DecentralizedSocial. Get off of services like #Facebook and protect the privacy of your data. http://darkernet.in/cispa-about-to-become-law-we-list-the-companies-that-back-it-and-introduce-its-new-friend-riot/Sean Tilley

Graph search, a way to dent your privacy and breach into one's own space ! More reasons to avoid #facebook now ! #rtNouman Warris

Facebook?s Never Had A Big User Data Breach, But May Never Recover When It Does http://bit.ly/VsEdCn #privacyPrivacyMemes

Doctorow's "cyber-optimistic" views do not go unpunished. Not everyone is in favor of fighting DRM. Here, YouTube user?MusicProGuides?details how the use of DRM actually contributes to the incomeof the musicians who are subscribed to services such as Yahoo:

Confessions of a Record Producer: Why We Need DRM and Tethered Downloadsmusicproguides

Because of leaks, we need to immediately implement DRM on console games: It's time we start implementing DRM on.. http://bit.ly/9NoIj8ciprian

There are also those who believe that digital rights management helps to create and sustain a healthy economy.?

Producers Note: Ancillary Markets: Yes - we will need DRM for 3D designs ... http://fb.me/xPqMBc7QRobert Lee

In this video, the negative effects of video piracy are explained:

A Video Piracy Campaign | It Must Be Stoppedwhoorderedmilk

As the internet continues to grow, the debates about the degree of its openness will surely come up. One such debate is already underway in the EU. Recently in Germany, copyright claims hindered YouTube users from?watching many videos showing a meteor strike. The copyright claims were in regards to a song playing in the background of many of the videos.?

You may not view this video (in Germany)Background music prevents Germans from tuning in to Russian meteor strike. Screen shot from YouTube. Last week, people all over the world...

Source: http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201302250203-0022566

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