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Assuming this is all true, how do you even tackle something like this while preserving the concept of freedom? If the government goes after groups of people for

Assuming this is all true, how do you even tackle something like this while preserving the concept of freedom? If the government goes after groups of people for "meddling in elections" - well, that's very vague, isn't it? Maybe most people don't have a problem with the FBI looking into domain registrations, cross-checking credit card payments, obtaining warrants for Google Analytics / Namecheap / etc...but investigating random web developers for alleged "ties to Russia" sounds eerily similar to McCarthyism.

karatestomp 7y ago
I’m beginning to think a free, international Internet isn’t compatible with democracy. The medium is the message and the message of the Internet might end up being autocracy and hyper-effective propaganda and disinformation. I’m not sure it practically can live up to what we hoped it would be—some kind of liberating, enlightening force. It may just not be that, and it may be that no amount of tinkering will fix it.
- xxpor 7y ago
  An uneducated populace isn't compatible with democracy. This is just yet another manifestation of that.
- bilbo0s 7y ago
  I don't think there will be a free, international internet much longer. Between the money that can be made by local internet companies and the dangers to the incumbent power structures, I'm sure we'll start seeing more and more china-like internet setups in the future.
jorblumesea 7y ago
The intelligence community knows the Russian actors are and where they are hitting from, for the most part. The issue is getting the political and business leadership to take it seriously and do something about it. The current administration has not taken the problem as seriously as it is for a wide variety of internal and political reasons. Neither has Facebook done much about limiting or policing political ads. The problem space is pretty clear, getting actors in the space to do something about it...

karatestomp 7y ago

I’m beginning to think a free, international Internet isn’t compatible with democracy. The medium is the message and the message of the Internet might end up being autocracy and hyper-effective propaganda and disinformation. I’m not sure it practically can live up to what we hoped it would be—some kind of liberating, enlightening force. It may just not be that, and it may be that no amount of tinkering will fix it.

xxpor 7y ago
An uneducated populace isn't compatible with democracy. This is just yet another manifestation of that.
bilbo0s 7y ago
I don't think there will be a free, international internet much longer. Between the money that can be made by local internet companies and the dangers to the incumbent power structures, I'm sure we'll start seeing more and more china-like internet setups in the future.

jorblumesea 7y ago

The intelligence community knows the Russian actors are and where they are hitting from, for the most part. The issue is getting the political and business leadership to take it seriously and do something about it. The current administration has not taken the problem as seriously as it is for a wide variety of internal and political reasons. Neither has Facebook done much about limiting or policing political ads. The problem space is pretty clear, getting actors in the space to do something about it...