Paranoid Factoid
Jul 22, 2017 · 1 min read

Google, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit — even Medium — own and therefore have total control over what data is imput to their systems. Users cede their privacy by design. The institutions profit by converting use into intellectual property.

So what can be done?

Regulation. Once there were antitrust laws enforced in the US. Today, no more. As a businesswoman, how much government regulation are you willing to support? Do you see it as a solution?

Distributed systems. For every Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc there is a competing lesser known system based on distributed decentralization. Diaspora (Facebook) and Quitter (Twitter), both free open source software codebases. They do not have the userbase (or building network effect) of their commercial counterparts.

Ultimately, we must face a free speech conflict between manipulative techologies and the prevailing social order. These guys are organized and out to upend western civilization itself. And they’re winning.