Mozilla is currently doing an interesting drive for the future of the Internet. Internet and the amazing and monstrous opportunities it has raises enumerable philosophic questions. Mozilla asks you to pick one of six possible categories for what you think is most important for the internet, Opportunity, Accessibility, Freedom, Learning, User Control or Privacy. Amazingly, maybe not surprisingly though, Privacy comes at as a definite first. I do in full agree that Personal Integrity is important but in a system built upon people sharing their lives and experiences I find it odd that Privacy is the most important thing, it´s a bit paradoxical. I understand the fear of anything you post being misused or misinterpreted but maybe this could be rephrased in a better way? Does the problem not lie somewhere else, to protect us from those wishing to misuse the system? I don’t want a “private internet”, I want a “safe” internet. In the same way as I wish I could leave my bicycle or door unlocked without fearing that someone will take an opportunity of that. Is the problem that we need stronger and safer locks or is the problem that we can´t, won´t or don´t fight for making sure that no one comes to the point of trying if your door is unlocked?
Sorry ´bout this tech-philosophy rant but I think that we need some root case analysis on society on the whole.
Please have a look at Mozilla´s campaign page here page
Update 5/5:
On a closer look at the site, the button for privacy actually had a better title than that being displayed on the map, “Safeguards privacy” 🙂
