Tech independence is, at best an individual solution. Sure, maybe you can be free, but you leave everyone else behind. What we need are collective solutions. S

Tech independence is, at best an individual solution. Sure, maybe you can be free, but you leave everyone else behind. What we need are collective solutions. Solutions that work to protect your parents, your children, your friends, your co-workers—everyone—from tech megacorporations whose intention—in some cases openly and explicitly—is to own the world and make everyone pay rent to them for existing in the digital space. At worst, "tech independence" is a mirage. You may have your own physical server, running an OS you've built from scratch, whose code you've inspected and verified free from infiltration, but you're still communicating over wires owned by those same megacorporations. If too many people walk away and say "not my problem anymore," rather than fighting for better laws and regulations to rein in the massive overreach of big tech companies, we lose the critical mass to be able to continue to fight them. Which would you rather have: A world where no one has to pay that digital rent? Where everyone can communicate, network, etc privately and safely, with end-to-end encryption over open protocols? Or one where you get to play the Lone Hero Standing Alone Against The Evil, while others continue to be abused?