Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has called for new regulations for the internet. The irony of social media magnate, Mark, calling for regulation on privacy is not lost on us either.
There are four main categories that Mr.Zuckerberg has focused his eye on:
Harmful content, election integrity, privacy and data portability.
But what does this mean? We will break down each category into meaningful chunks.
Harmful content
Harmful content needs to regulated? This, is a slightly confusing category. What is harmful content?
Content that affects the viewer in a negative way and it should be stopped?
This seems fair unless the context is changing.
A vegetarian watching a carcass being butchered may consider it a negative experience. A trainee butcher on the other hand will be having a completely different experience, possibly a beneficial one.
There are many angles that need to be considered before you can decide what is harmful. Even then it’s still subjective.
Election Integrity
Election integrity needs to be regulated? It this not already regulated?
Has democracy been working since ancient Greece or has it been a failing system this whole time, crying out for regulators?
Regulation is probably not needed if the whole voting system migrates to blockchain tech. Each legitimate voter can vote instantly via their devices. For those that do not have devices then the tried and tested method of going to the voting booth will still be in play. The only difference would be that the voter would use a device at the booth linked to the same chain. This also means everyone else using the same chain can vouch that this was voted for. Everyone involved could do their own recounts via the corresponding app.
Blockchain Voting
Calling for regulation on election integrity though? Regulation generally means a governing body that is centralised. Correct me if i’m wrong but isn’t voting already regulated by the government? Could we not just update to voting on the blockchain? For example, you have an unbreakable chain. This chain shows what has happened to it every step of the way. Every person using it can validate it. Considering this, is it election integrity regulation we need or just a better system?
Privacy Regulation
The head of Facebook is calling for privacy regulation.
With the headlines over the last 18 months regarding Facebook this is certainly surprising. A bit like the tobacco industry begging to use warning labels.
Facebook are also currently looking into their own cryptocurrency, interesting right?
There are already a number of crypto-currencies out there that not only specialise in privacy but also give the user full control over where their data goes and how much of it is used.
With regards to how much data everyone else holds on a person, yes maybe this does need regulating. Maybe the large corporations such as Facebook and Google who actively use your information to sell their products need regulating. That’s for the public to decide though.
Data Portability
Taken from the EU’s GDPR
Controllers must make the data available in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable and inter-operable format that allows the individual to transfer the data to another controller
So this means all information a user has given a corporate body is still owned by that user. Also, at any point the user can remove all their information and move to another body.
Mr Zuckerberg is calling for regulation on data portability. Data portability is the choice to move freely from one body to another leaving no data behind.
Yes, there are laws now in place in the E.U.
Actually checking whether companies are following the rules though is another thing entirely.
This is the key meaning of ‘data portability needs regulation’: Who is watching the watcher?
Don’t forget, there are multiple crypto-currencies designed with this in mind. The reason they are still around is because they disrupt the current system. They bring a fresh way of doing things in a transparent, secure fashion that is hard to stand against.
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