CNN: TBL on the 30'th Anniversary, combating hacking and abuse
Webfoundation - On the Web's 30'th, "What's Next?"
And, finally, Berners-Lee's "A Contract for the Web."
Most of you are well-acquainted with "The Problem." You know what's out there and some of you have confronted it, or been confronted by it, first-hand. We are all "in it" whether we want to be or not. Even those who never use the Internet are subject to its abuse. Their names lie, rank upon rank, in stolen databases waiting to be purchased by the latest unsavory buyer.
How do we need to look at this beast?
Let's say we try to create a situation where "The Internet" is, in fact, "Real Life." It's not just "electronic," it's a Beast in the Jungle...
<you can skip this part if you are already past your word-count limit for today >
You wake up at 10am, two hours late for work because someone sneaked into your room and turned off your alarm clock. You go to take a shower, but the water is cold. You go down to the basement to discover that your neighbor has diverted the hot-water line to their house and you've been paying for their hot-water usage for three months. You get dressed in a rush and notice that your new pants don't fit. You read the label, again, and notice that it has a small fold-out section. Underneath the "Microscopic Label Reader" you notice a bunch of foreign words. With your "Legalese Translator," that you pay a monthly fee to access, you discover the pants are not guaranteed to comply with the size stated on the label, since the company has trademarked "Siize" and the number doesn't indicated actual "size." You also discover that the pants are, in fact, not pants but a strangely shaped avocado.
On your way to your car, someone picks your pocket and steals your wallet. You didn't see them because they were not only disguised as a bush, but they were actually a real bush. It's the New Bush 2.0 hack and you got robbed! You get in your car and before you even start the engine, the police pull up in your driveway and tell you that they're confiscating your car because you've been implicated in a giant money-laundering scheme. It turns out one of your neighbors has been using your car at night to defraud Teh Gubbermint and millions of broom owners by sending out fake notices of "Broom Taxes." The witches are a very angry lobbying group, these days.
And, speaking of the government, Agent Smith asks you to pick up some more cheese spread. And, of course, not that crappy budget stuff you always buy, but "the good stuff." Name-brand. The Cheese Wiz stuff, kind of spray-on cheese! Agent Smith isn't a fussy roommate, really. He tries to go unnoticed and sits beside you ever night as you watch your cat videos and, when you're feeling frisky, go hunting for more titillating viewing material. You discover Agent Smith likes some of your choices and keeps snapshots of them in his wallet. Which, you can't see of course, since it's all "Secret." You don't mind though, because Agent Smith constantly tells you he's "keeping you safe." And, he's also backing up your pr0n collection, so that can't be bad, right?
While your driving down the road, fifteen different cars pull in behind you, following you everywhere you go. It's inevitable that two to ten of them will attempt to pull in front of you and divert your course. But, you've prepared and you press "The Button" which shuts down most of their automobiles. Unfortunately, it also has the effect of rendering much of the road completely useless so "grats you." You have a choice - Be safe from them or be able to drive comfortably all the way to your parking space at your office.
The guy that lives in your car's radio doesn't mind that it may take a bit longer for you to get to work. He's too busy taking pictures of you, writing down the songs you like, making substitutions to your favorite music tracks when you're not paying attention and has co-opted your automobile's braking system in hopes of selling it to someone so they can use it to kill you... or, at least force you to buy a new brake system, since it's Fredo's Brake Pad Manufacuring Company that is considering buying access to it at the moment.
When you get to work, you discover you've been fired. It seems someone wore a shirt that looked just like your favorite one and they ran into the office and stole everything. Every_single_thing. Since it kinda looked like you, it must be you, so the company notifies you that their attorneys will be suing you for a bajillion monies. It doesn't matter that the company never bothered to lock their doors or secure anything. It doesn't matter that all they ever did was throw everything out the window, whether customers were paying them or not. Now, you'll be the one that will get fired for it. Grats you. And, of course, it's not really your fault since there isn't any other company to work for - They are all "The Company."
Later in the day, on your way home from getting fired at work, you are murdered in cold blood while sitting at a stop-light and someone who looks just like you throws your corpse in the gutter and starts driving your car around, going to your house, sleeping in your bed, and joking with Agent Smith about how dangerous a world it is. Luckily, at least he remembered to pick up the Cheese Wiz and Agent Smith is none the wiser... Nor does Agent Smith really care who provided the Cheese Wiz.
<reacquire the post, here >
IF we had to live "Real Life" in the conditions that now exist "online" we'd extinct ourselves overnight. Our budgets just to protect ourselves from ourselves would be outrageous and nobody who could be targeted would be safe no matter how many monies they spent on tanks, aircraft and assorted things that go <Boom>. Nobody. Not the US, not China, not the UK, not Australia... Well, maybe Australia, 'cause "spiders", but everyone else would be friggin screwed.
Berners-Lee's proposal is simple and, in my opinion, that's its flaw. Sure, he's a folk-legend, but not all heroes are perfect.
These sound great, right? BUT, the only reason it would be possible for these to actually work is because there is an "Official Somebody" to be held accountable. Not all governments are legitimate and not all governments are capable of being held accountable for everything they do. Right now, it's virtually guaranteed that what you think your "Rights" are "online" as a citizen of your country are being stomped on, either by your own country or by their allies. Or, a not-ally. Or, an avenue of attack that your government knows about, but purposefully does not protect you against because they might need to use it one day... There is very little in the way of "privacy" for "citizens" in the online world these days. One can't hold someone accountable for something one doesn't know has happened. The first two are "doable" in some ways, but the whole "privacy" thing regarding Governments is ridiculous - It can't be policed by the citizenry.Governments will
Ensure everyone can connect to the internet : So that anyone, no matter who they are or where they live, can participate actively online.
Keep all of the internet available, all of the time : So that no one is denied their right to full internet access.
Respect people’s fundamental right to privacy : So everyone can use the internet freely, safely and without fear
Complete garbage promises, since there is no official legally binding instrument nor a way to penalize non-compliance.Companies will...
It's... It's the "U.N." suggestion. There's no penalty, nobody checking up on them, nobody who can tell them "No" and no penalty for non-compliance. What, someone is going to use bad words to criticize them? A bajillion monies in profits can counter that very easily by them making a few posts to Twitter and Facebook, no problem.
Feel-Good Garbage. This assumes that the citizens aren't, in fact, criminals... And, it also assumes that people will "Eat right" and "Get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day" and "lovingly care for their houseplants by checking their soil conditions and watering or fertilizing them as needed." Various places I have lived are full of dead houseplants... And, I like plants. Botanicidalist? Maybe, but I still like them.Citizens will...
The point of this post isn't to dump all over what is a feel-good movement with well intentioned purpose. There are fifty-eleven of those to choose from in the world and this one isn't a special case. There is only one purpose for this post:
What would you do in order to fix The Internet and to address "The Problem?"
Is there a problem? Does "The Problem" exist? Is ever-diminishing privacy a concern of yours? Are you concerned or not that it's likely some if not all of your personal information is in a criminal's database? Or, has the chance to be at any moment? And, do you mind or not that your activity online is data that is collected and sold, not just to the "highest bidder" but to anyone that is willing to pay for it?
How would you fix The Internet?