Originally published on Session. Platforms like Facebook have been pushing social media identities for a long time. These days you can login or create an account on pretty much any website using your Facebook, Google, or Apple account. Everything is neatly tied together with details like your interests, friend network, and personal info (like your … 

  I need a new identity: Social media and the identity ecosystem

Social media identity

I need a new identity: Social media and the identity ecosystem

Originally published on Session. Maths is maths — it can’t lie, it can’t be biased, it’s a force of nature that’s too pure and honest to be meddled with by mere humans. And algorithms…well algorithms are just a special kind of maths, so the same applies to those too, right? For a long time, people … 

  Disposing of Big Tech: Building better algorithms (Part Two)

Building better algorithms

Disposing of Big Tech: Building better algorithms (Part Two)

Originally published on Session. In the United States—the capital of the tech world—there is an ongoing struggle between the belief in people’s right to free speech and concerns over the violent and malicious content being spread online. The outcomes of the conflict between big tech companies, regulators, and digital rights advocates on the US battleground … 

  Disposing of Big Tech: Free speech is not disposable (Part One) Read More »

Free speech is not disposable

Disposing of Big Tech: Free speech is not disposable (Part One)

Do you believe in technology? In the world wide web of mega-corporations, rent goes up while innovation goes down.

Gentrification of the internet

Livin’ on the land of Big Tech: The gentrification of the internet

Originally published on Session. When the internet began, anonymity (or really, pseudonymity) was built into the experience. For the first time in history, we had mass-scale pseudonymous connection and communication. People were posting on bulletin boards, messaging on mailing lists, and working every day with people that they didn’t really know. It didn’t take long for questions … 

  The anonymity argument: Debunking the real name fallacy

Anonymity argument

The anonymity argument: Debunking the real name fallacy

Originally published on Session. Regulators are increasingly acting with open hostility towards encryption, security, and privacy. The latest chapter in this sorry story took  place in our own backyard when Australia’s government passed a new bill granting the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) new surveillance capabilities. Because Session is built in … 

  On the recent Australian surveillance legislation

Australian privacy legislation

On the recent Australian surveillance legislation

Originally published on Session. Encryption doesn’t mean encryption. Encryption is a code word that stands for freedom of speech, the free press, and the preservation of the human rights we all hold dear. Encryption is a weapon that’s pointed directly at the biggest, most concentrated powers in the world; encryption makes those in power accountable … 

  Privacy propaganda: The war on encryption