[governance] Is this for real?

[Mawaki Chango]

As a general reflection (prompted by Roland's message below)...
There's something deeper that has been going on, and I am not sure
European authorities understand that from what I can see --or rather,
from what I have not seen-- from their policies and strategies.

Laws and state rule-making are no longer calling the shot like in the
19th and most part of the 20th century. Google, Microsoft, Facebook,
etc. are, in one way or the other (and yes, they still have to
negotiate with states and pay fines in this transition time, but
nevertheless...). They all are US companies, just as I bet the next
digital giant will be. Those are the powers that are and will be
setting the norms in the digital age and economy.

Unless EU pursues a deliberate and creative strategy to enable
competitive players to emerge who share and promote their values,
norms re. individual rights, etc. they are just buying some time.
While I understand this also depends on the ingenuity of people, for
one, people don't alway need to be of a nationality to create a
company of that nationality, for another, ingenuity can also emerge as
a result of a strategy. Maybe those authorities no longer believe in
their own values and they just want to tell their constituents: hey,
we're doing our job by fining those companies who don't respect your
rights!

Bottom line, the law may correct tomorrow the technology loopholes or
excesses of today, but there will be new ones by then. More proactive
strategies that will enable a plurality of value propositions (both
figuratively and literally) to the consumers and citizens --and show
the world the proof that is hidden in the pudding-- would be a better
way, IMHO.

You may replace in the above, Europe by any other country or region
sharing the same norms: Canada, New Zealand (?), Australia (?), etc.
Or is everybody waiting for China (maybe they will figure out a way to
come up with ideas that could also be palatable to many Internet users
outside China?) or for emerging countries? I know there is a huge
reserve of ingenuity in Africa but the structural challenges are still
daunting... Not sure if we have to wait, but we'll certainly see.

Best,

Mawaki


On Wed, Feb 29, 2012 at 8:55 AM, Roland Perry
<roland at internetpolicyagency.com> wrote:
> at 08:29:12 on Wed, 29 Feb 2012, Deirdre Williams
> <williams.deirdre at gmail.com> writes
>
>>  But all this is technology and it will improve....
>>
>> For better, or for [much] worse
>
>
> It should make it better, because the law's catching up fast and service
> providers need to show they are complying.
>
> For example, the current need for websites in EU to ask for "proper
> permission" to install cookies. Not that it's happening much, but it's a
> work in progress.
>
> Similarly, more recent EU proposals for a "right to be forgotten" and the
> formal removal of ambiguity over whether things like IP and email addresses
> are 'personal data' [they are] will mean more attention will be focussed on
> the consumer/citizen's rights.
>
> And perhaps I'm unusual in thinking that Facebook's Timeline is a good
> thing, because it shows the data subjects (as well as the rest of the world)
> a much more comprehensive view of the information they've revealed - and a
> better tool to edit/censor what other subscribers can see (even if there's
> sometimes some doubt about whether it gets completely deleted at the
> Facebook end).
> --
> Roland Perry
>
>
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