I have devoted my life to bringing Internet to people, and it’s truly wonderful that Internet gives us access to information, ways to communicate and opportunities to get our voices heard. Getting to have this technology took a lot of effort.
The problem, however, is that today we’re seeing this technology misused with the purpose of drowning factual information in customized “fake news” and for bombarding people with tailored marketing based on what they’ve been doing online.
Both governments and businesses are using people’s private data – such as browsing history – to provide tailored marketing and propaganda.
It’s not a question of what’s better. Internet should not be controlled by either.
Both governments and businesses need to accept that not all communication should be monitored. The fact that our actions can be monitored does not mean that they should be. Also, governments should not ask for backdoors in software. Backdoors are often used by the wrong people for the wrong purposes. The recent WannaCry ransomware attack is an example.
We can solve many problems with stricter privacy and data gathering laws. This would improve people’s privacy online and make it much more challenging for businesses and governments to target people with tailored advertising or propaganda.