This is part of a larger trend of non-state actors with a huge variety of sometimes very pro-social missions (IMF, anti-child exploitation non-profits) advancing their respective missions through leveraging or targeting other non-state actors' platform control (tech companies, adtech infra) of platforms we totally rely on for day-to-day life (browsers, smart phones, OSs).
The connective tissue is the selective analysis, or less generously: magical thinking, of tech's beneficial features for a specific mission while ignoring (or not understanding) what their views for tech-use cause in aggregate.
The only counteraction that seems capable of effective reaction to this trend is forcing that "aggregate view." Developers on GitHub re: showing hash collisions for Apple's CSAM tech have recently lead the way in this space. Tools which passively search the web to generate browser histories which have beneficial credit score impact are another option.
It's time to return to the mindset cypherpunks created, but expand it from their hyper-focus on privacy: write and socialize tools which politely but directly force tech-lite researchers and non-state actors with powerful missions and influence to acknowledge their blindspots (hopefully), or screw up their products (more likely).
This is part of a larger trend of non-state actors with a huge variety of sometimes very pro-social missions (IMF, anti-child exploitation non-profits) advancing their respective missions through leveraging or targeting other non-state actors' platform control (tech companies, adtech infra) of platforms we totally rely on for day-to-day life (browsers, smart phones, OSs).
The connective tissue is the selective analysis, or less generously: magical thinking, of tech's beneficial features for a specific mission while ignoring (or not understanding) what their views for tech-use cause in aggregate.
The only counteraction that seems capable of effective reaction to this trend is forcing that "aggregate view." Developers on GitHub re: showing hash collisions for Apple's CSAM tech have recently lead the way in this space. Tools which passively search the web to generate browser histories which have beneficial credit score impact are another option.
It's time to return to the mindset cypherpunks created, but expand it from their hyper-focus on privacy: write and socialize tools which politely but directly force tech-lite researchers and non-state actors with powerful missions and influence to acknowledge their blindspots (hopefully), or screw up their products (more likely).