52 Week Smartphone Challenge : Week 25 : Freedom

Freedom means many things to many people. Tell us a story about what Freedom means to you.

After being cooped up inside all week, just being outside in these wide-open spaces, is a relief. I can be free to imagine that we are getting closer to having our freedom back. But of course, the reality is that until there is a vaccine, we can't expect to have our lives back.

theonlyd800inthehameau observes the freedom that birds enjoy.

Submitted for my 52 Week Smartphone Challenge.

We The People

I saw some snippets from a recent Trump rally. The following words popped into my head. Emphasis mine.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.National Archives

Defending Internet Freedom through Decentralization

Defending Internet Freedom through Decentralization: Back to the Future? by The Center for Civic Media & The Digital Currency Initiative MIT Media Lab, August 2017. Chelsea Barabas, Neha Narula, Ethan Zuckerman (dci.mit.edu)

In this report, we explore two important ways structurally decentralized systems could help address the risks of mega-platform consolidation: First, these systems can help users directly publish and discover content directly, without intermediaries, and thus without censorship. All of the systems we evaluate advertise censorship-resistance as a major benefit. Second, these systems could indirectly enable greater competition and user choice, by lowering the barrier to entry for new platforms. As it stands, it is difficult for users to switch between platforms (they must recreate all their data when moving to a new service) and most mega-platforms do not interoperate, so switching means leaving behind your social network. Some systems we evaluate directly address the issues of data portability and interoperability in an effort to support greater competition.

This research report is fascinating.