E-Speech
= freedom of expression in digital media
Description
From the article: E-Speech: The (Uncertain) Future of Free Expression.
By Aram Sinnreich and Masha Zager:
"Without a name for the big picture, it’s difficult to do anything about it. Imagine trying to reverse global warming, reduce pollution and save species from extinction without the umbrella of the word environmentalism connecting the issues. Therefore, we propose the term e-speech as a concept to unite these issues, and to discuss potential solutions to the problem they collectively pose. First, however, we should briefly discuss the issues themselves." (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081024_e_speech_the_uncertain_future_of_free_expression/)
Discussion: Overview of threats against free e-speech
Searches without warrant
"Most of us have read about the surveillance of our phone conversations, and the recent amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) retroactively granting immunity to companies like AT&T and Verizon for illegally handing our private information over to the federal government. However, fewer people are aware of the Stored Communications Act (SCA), which the government has used to obtain access to Web-based e-mail without getting a warrant or notifying the account holder.
Similarly, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), an international treaty currently under negotiation, may allow customs officials to search our computers, MP3 players and other electronic devices for unpermissioned content when we travel, and may force ISPs to disclose more information about our online activities to copyright owners claiming infringement. ACTA negotiations have been held in secret, and what little we know is the result of leaks. Despite not telling us much about it, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) says it is trying to “complete the new agreement as quickly as possible.” The Electronic Frontier Foundation and Public Knowledge recently filed suit against the USTR, demanding more information about ACTA before it’s actually ratified.
Network Neutrality
"Another potential threat to civil liberties online is the end of network neutrality, or nondiscriminatory delivery of online communications. Some ISPs have begun to argue that they should be allowed to collect an extra fee from the application provider for delivering an e-mail, Web page or video to an end user. Former AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre summed up their justification well, arguing that “for a Google or Yahoo or Vonage or anybody to expect to use these pipes [for] free is nuts!” However, this argument doesn’t hold much water when you consider that both the originator and the end user are paying for their Internet access; in essence, the ISPs would like to get paid by three separate parties to deliver a single e-mail or voice message from point A to point B.
In reality, the purpose of such fees would be to protect ISPs’ video services from competition by Internet-based video (such as YouTube), and ISPs’ phone services from competition by Internet-based VoIP (such as Skype). And for any Internet communications that did take place, major publishers and advertisers could outbid the rest of us, consigning us to the slow lane. In the short term, this could make Web-based services like audio/video chatting and video sharing more expensive. In the longer term, it could bring an end to the proliferation of new voices and creative new services that we’ve gotten used to seeing on the Web." (http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081024_e_speech_the_uncertain_future_of_free_expression/)
Asymmetrical Internet Access
"Yet another hindrance to free speech and open communications online is asymmetrical access (the “A” in “ADSL”). Nearly all broadband ISPs—even in the age of YouTube, Skype and MySpace—offer downstream speeds (from the Internet to the user) that are much faster than upstream speeds (from the user to the Internet). This is a legacy of the cable networks’ origins in the unidirectional world of TV programming, and of the antiquated vision of the Internet as an “information superhighway” by which consumers would access information. Few people anticipated that Americans would be as interested in producing content as they were in consuming it, or that they might want to use video for communicating. So regulators failed to address communication to the Internet, and the original vision of the Internet became enshrined in industrywide technology standards. Today, most providers still use technologies that are downstream-oriented. A few new technologies (Active Ethernet, GPON, VDSL2) support high upstream speeds, but it will take years, and hundreds of billions of dollars, to upgrade all of our networks to use them." (http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/20081024_e_speech_the_uncertain_future_of_free_expression/)
Walled Garden
"free speech online is threatened by “walled garden” services and technologies, in which the ISP or wireless provider determines what content the user has access to, what software the user can install, and even what formats are permissible for encoding audio or video. Walled garden services for the PC had their heyday in the 1990s (remember AOL, CompuServe and Prodigy?), but we are only beginning to see the extent to which they will dominate the Internet on wireless devices.
A great example of a walled garden is Apple’s iPhone. Spending several hundred dollars to purchase one doesn’t give you permission to install the software of your choice or distribute software to other users. Apple has already used its power to block software providers attempting to compete with Apple’s own software, such as the e-mail application that comes bundled with the device. Even more worrisome, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has acknowledged that iPhones are equipped with a “kill switch” that allows the company to remotely delete applications from your phone." (http://www.truthdig.com/report/page2/20081024_e_speech_the_uncertain_future_of_free_expression/)