The transition to post-Edward Snowden era continues to raise the same concerns that his revelations brought to the fore. Citizens 'privacy in the digital environment is a nostalgic memory, as there is no guarantee that citizens' extensive electronic surveillance is over. At the same time, the practice of Internet companies seeking access to more and more personal data, especially in mobile applications, is highlighting the problem.
On June 2 (10:00 am), in Technopolis (Gazi) the postgraduate program "Qualitative Journalism and New Technologies" co-organizes with the General Secretariat of Information the Day "Personal Data, Propaganda and Freedom of the Press", attempting to highlight the need for a new digital Alphabet, a framework for the protection of the Citizen's privacy but also the conditions suitable for the flourishing of the independent informations.
Among the prominent speakers, in the "Personal Data" section will be Professor Giorgos Metakidis, President of the Digital Enlightenment Forum Organization and a participant in the creation of the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), a cornerstone for the development of the Internet. As he states, "when Edward Snowden's revelations were made public, people who were dealing with the matter in Brussels and elsewhere said slowly we knew them. And it is true. And in fact they said they were hypocritical, the reactions that followed.
Many times, however, in political life, when something comes out, things change. That's what Digital Agenda Commissioner Nelly Croes said was an awakening. Then we saw a chain of reactions in different countries, Germany, Brazil, we had a new situation, a new awareness and this creates the possibilities to do something, inspired by the Enlightenment, to project certain situations. Hence Tim Berners' recent announcement about the need for an Internet Magna Card. After all, the first official publication of Human Rights was in that ideological and temporal context.
Another message of the Enlightenment was the empowerment of the individual, his emancipation. Being able to make decisions on his own, to have a level of knowledge and not to be humiliated. Eisenhower, in his farewell speech, spoke of the threat from the military-industrial cluster. Now, we are in danger of becoming a bank of the banking-technological cluster. If you get the so-called GAFA (Google - Apple - Facebook - Amazon) and collectively test our control over us, and on the other hand the financial institution, we have a new form, worse than Eisenwauer warned of. It is a fact that we are opaque to them.
The difficult question is what are the choices we really have, as Europeans, as Greeks, as individuals. When, say, the director of Google comes out and says something like "this is the price of having free services", we understand that nothing is free. We pay dearly for this service. Are they not profiting from our personal data? How much do they make and what do they give us? We have to weigh the real data in order to make the right choices".
For his part, the head of the "Qualitative Journalism and New Technologies" program, Marios Nottas, focuses on the issue of passive acceptance of the terms of use of various digital applications: "Those who think they are installing "safe" programs on their computers, think again . The concept is simply non-existent. And the worst: We consent ourselves. The legal departments of those who develop software, for reasonable as well as abusive reasons, take care of two things: a) We "agree" to the usually illegible, long-winded, and foreign-language terms as a condition of using the program, and b) we even agree... proactively, in terms they will formulate in the future.
The global situation that prevails in 2014, reminds one of an infinite digital banana, and - apparently - "no one's ear is sweating". Of course there are worse ones. The 'dark' processes hidden behind the 'innocent' data που συλλέγει για τον χρήστη και τις συνήθειές του το εν λόγω λογισμικό, καθώς και το “αθώο” δίκτυο συνεργατών της “κατασκευάστριας” εταιρείας, που αποκτά πρόσβαση σε αυτά τα ίδια στοιχεία. Και δεν μιλάμε για τους τρέχοντες (άγνωστους σε εμάς) συνεργάτες της, αλλά ακόμη και τους ..μελλοντικούς.
Let us hope that both the universities and the responsible bodies, in particular the competent Independent Authority and, moreover, the active citizens, will be mobilized for a safer and fairer digital future, or, as we will discuss Monday at Technopolis, there will be a consensus on the the necessity of a new Digital Magna Carta. That is, a Charter that will redefine Digital Citizenship, our new coexistence in social groups that their life is (happily or unfortunately) determined by New Technologies. "
The workshop starts at 10.00 on Monday morning, June 2 and will be broadcast online at kathimerini.gr. More information can be found on the website www, pressfreedomday.com.
