This article was written by Manuel Beltrán, Luis Rodil-Fernández and Pawel Pokutycki of the Alternative Learning Tank in the Netherlands; it originally appeared on their site. We are happily providing them the space on our blog to share their ideas with our readers.
"I need everybody's ID" she said without a smile. This would be the first of a number of security checks necessary before the visit to the data centre could begin, every security check doubling as a reality check. The idealistic mirage of user-generated content, the friendly face of the web as a public space, exist only behind an electrified fence, permanently watched by a thousand electronic eyes. It feels ironic that the same industry that doesn't hesitate in deploying state-of-the-art surveillance in its own facilities feels victim to state-run surveillance programs aimed at the very data they host.
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