Week 12 Article Review - The Internet Lost Promise

In this week’s article we learn about the history of the internet and how it was created and what it was meant to do. The article also discusses the concerns with what the internet is turning into and what the author feels United States government needs to do to have the internet get back to its original purpose.

The initial purpose of the internet was to “Give power to the powerless” in many cases that still happens today, however it has also evolved into large corporations using data to project their own agenda and hush critics. This is concerning considering how the internet started from technology entrepreneurs building new devices and platforms out of their garages being paid for and subsidized by the US government. The US government also put policies in place to help nurture the exchange of information on the World Wide Web. This initially led to the globalization of democratization of the information being shared.

However in recent years more and larger tech companies are using algorithms to track, filter, and promote what specific content users are viewing. Many countries such as China, Russia and other countries block and regulate what citizens can view. China takes it as far as running a “Social Credits” check to assess the citizen’s likelihood to go into furthering education, travel, become employable.

The article criticizes the US government for not taking a stand against the tracking of users information. It claims that users don’t know they are being tracked or that records are being made of what they view. All of us at one point or another have agreed to the service terms to use a social media platform without reading through the agreement. In these agreements, the provider clearly states they will record your information. In my opinion, the blame should not be placed on the US government for lack of a statement on this issue. This should be the consumer's responsibility to be aware of the services you choose to use. As a consumer, you need to understand what information will be kept on your use of the platform and how it will be used. Only when information is used for a purpose other than what was agreed to in the service agreement should the US government be expected to act. You as a user also must be able to determine and sift through the targeted ads and media that platforms push on you. If you don’t like them doing this then it is simple…. Don't use the platform.

I liked this article, it provided a lot of thought provoking questions and facts. However, I would like to ask the author a question. If the US government begins to pass regulations or restrict how companies publish information, how are they any different from Russia or China regulating and blocking what their citizens they can view? I think we can all agree that limiting someone’s freedom of speech is fundamentally wrong, so then why would we want our government to regulate or restrict the information companies publish on the internet?