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Invisibly Seeing the Invisible
A Biometrical Paradigm , by Stefan Nowotny
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Freedom of Expression and New Technologies
by Konrad Becker
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On 7 October, 2002, Konrad Becker, Director of World-Information.Org, was invited to deliver the keynote speech at the preparatory event for the OSCE Mediterranean Seminar on media and new technologies: implications for governments, international organizations and civil society (4-5 November, 2002, Rhodes, Greece) in Vienna. [Read] |
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Folks Out There Have a "Distaste of Western Civilization and Cultural Values"
by Edward S. Herman
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Edward S. Herman, Professor Emeritus of Finance at the Wharton School (Pennsylvania, US), reflects on the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington. [Read] |
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Digital Political Activism
An interview with Annie
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Annie is part of Indymedia UK and spoke to World-Information.Org about the role of online media in the context of political activism. [Read] |
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"Why leap the digital divide?"
An interview with Kunda Dixit
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Kunda Dixit is director of Panos South Asia and co-publisher of Himal magazine. After his presentation at the World-Information Forum in Vienna he spoke to Wolfgang Sützl about the digital divide and its implications for the global political systems. [Read] |
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Surveillance Technology: "Now people are seeing the dangers and that's important."
An interview with Steve Wright
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Steve Wright is director of the OMEGA foundation, and author of the report on technologies of political control for the European Parliament. He spoke to Wolfgang Sützl about actual developments concerning surveillance technology and his optimism that global surveillance will soon become a political issue. [Read] |
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"Propaganda is not simply a question of manipulation and disinformation."
An interview with Philip Hammond
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Philip Hammond is a senior lecturer in media studies at London's South Bank University, and co-editor (with Ed Herman) of "Degraded Capability. The Media and the Kosovo Crisis" (Pluto Press 2000). He spoke to Wolfgang Sützl spoke after his presentation at the World-InfoCon in Brussels earlier this year. [Read] |
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The Total Surveillance of Public Space
by Steve Wright
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Our 21st Century is heralded as the information society, a digital age characterized by information superhighways. This technologically "wired world" is seen as a neutral indicator of our modernity. But is there a dark side? Because of advances of information and communication technologies (ICTs), all of us inadvertently provide access to a great deal of information about our likes and tastes. Everywhere we go, we leave information trails monitored by the credit card companies, who target us with products or can tell when our cards are not being used in normal transaction patterns. Arguably all of this is to our benefit, we are consumers of these products and can choose not to provide this information, or can we? [Read] |
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The Threath to Privacy
An interview with Saskia Sassen
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Saskia Sassen is Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago. She is the author of several books on the political economy and the sociology of cyberspace and on globalization. Sassen is most widely know for her concept of the global city (The Global City, Princeton University Press 1992), her most recent book publication is "Globalization and its Discontents" (New Press, 1999). In her lecture at the WIO World InfoCon at Brussels, 13 - 15 July, 2000, she spoke about the "Topography of E-space - electronic networks and public space"
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Philip Hammond, Edward S. Herman (eds.), Degraded Capability: The Media and the Kosovo Crisis.
by World-Information.Org
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Bookreview: Degraded Capability: The Media and the Kosovo Crisis gives an insight into the hysteria and misinformation that permeated media coverage of the war, and analyses how the war was reported in different countries around the world.
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Europe Is Awash with Eavesdrop Technologies
by Simon Davies
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You might not have noticed it yet, but your boss probably has you under surveillance. Simon Davies reports from Britain on a disturbing trend.
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The transition from Industrial to Information Society creates advanced information and communication technologies, that all stem from a military background. These tools can be easily abused in the hands of governments or corporations and used against the interest of the general public in a highly dangerous way. A new power structure arises, which has the potential to substantially dominate those lacking skills and access to communication tools.
The new power structure calls for the extension and adoption of the universal human rights to the needs of the Information Society. Electronic networks like the Internet are a unique communication medium, allowing individuals to express their ideas, opinions, literary, artistic or scientific work online. At the same time, they allow individuals access to ideas and information, to which they otherwise may not have access.
The realization of the digital human rights shall grant that every human being may participate in this medium and use its potential freely and unrestrictedly.
Digital human rights are based upon the understanding of communication as motor of civilization and foundation of individuality as well as communities. The very basic digital human rights are the right to access to the electronic domain, the right to freedom of expression and association online, and the right to privacy.
On a global scale, the right to access is the most crucial one: the majority of the world’s people lack even the minimal technological resources. Unless resources are shared and re-allocated, new communication technologies tend to further widen the gap between the (information-)rich and the (information-)poor. The digital divide between those with access to the new electronic communication channels and those without is in violation of the most fundamental digital human right.
Everyone has the right to education and skills in new technologies of the infosphere and the right to a basic level of information via public institutions and service providers.
Online free expression shall not be restricted by direct or indirect means, such as censorship, restrictive governmental or private control over computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or other essential components of the electronic networks.
The right to privacy, anonymity and security includes the protection from arbitrary surveillance of either content or association online as well as the right the choose privacy technology such as cryptography to protect their communication. Efforts that lead to the development of communications infrastructure designed for surveillance violate this right. Establishing individualized user profiles, tracking data traces or intercepting online communication for surveillance or marketing purposes despise the value of activity online as an important private good. [Read] |
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DIGITAL ECOLOGY