Digital culture

When I talk about 'Digital culture', I am referring to the political, social and legal aspects of living in a society increasingly dominated by digital communication and media. I'm a great supporter of these technologies; I believe that used responsibly they are great as 'enabling' technologies, levelling playing fields in a number of areas including business, personal freedom and accessibility. However, this revolution (and that word is used advisedly; I genuinely believe the changes brought about by these media genuinely constitute a revolution) is causing upsets in certain quarters. Some businesses, who fail to adapt to new technology, feel they are exempt from the traditional "adapt or die" mantra which applies to companies in a free society. Instead, they believe they have an inaliable right to exist and profit at all costs and therefore seek (through legislative and other processes) to safeguard their old-fashioned and unsustainable business models by placing artificial, ridiculous, unreasonable and morally offensive limitations on technology, without regard to the impact of these actions in wider society nor in a historical context.

Unfortunately, these campaigns are often backed by large amounts of money alongside well-connected, influential and articulate bureaucrats and lawyers. Added to this is the fact that, due to the highly technical nature of the problems, most politicians fail to understand the deep implications of the measures demanded by these businesses, and as such tend to accept their highly biased and extremely shallow summaries of the situation. This is a problem for everyone, not just those trained and employed in technical areas.

The main areas of concern, where legalistic processes are already creating artificial and morally indefensible problems are in copyright protection/licensing and patents (especially with respect to the patentability of software) - in other words, the issues with which the increasingly paranoid "Intellectual Property" lobby is primarily concerned (N.B. I am not opposed to intellectual protection). Additional to this, I believe that the case for the development and use (especially by governments and public organisations) of free software (where 'free' refers to freedom from restrictions, not necessarily price) is undeniable.

This site documents my personal attempts to fight against short-sighted, artificial and socially unacceptable limitations on technology which serve to increase economic monopolies and satisfy the greed of certain conglomerates at the expense of civil liberties and without regard to the ongoing development and advancement of technology for the greater social good.

Issues

Useful Links

Site Navigation