My students taught me that everything was personal - history, politics, foreign relations - but this approach creates boundaries as well as connections
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virtual realityopenDemocracy's managing editor Becky Hogge takes a fortnightly reality check on all things virtual. From information feudalism to the digital divide, welcome to the interface between technology and democracy.
A new knowledge market is scaring elites, releasing creativity and reshaping the intellectual-property argument
Governments around the world are becoming more sophisticated in restricting their netizens' freedom, finds Becky Hogge.
The corporate pressure on the successful user-generator news aggregator Digg highlights the flaws in the legal architecture governing next-generation media outlets, says Becky Hogge. Read the rest of this post...
If politicians really want to reach voters via the internet, argues Becky Hogge, they need to exploit the best features of the new communications environment. Read the rest of this post...
Like language, the internet exists as a function of its users, who define and generate its structure. As the complex digital world evolves, however, some shared values are needed writes Becky Hogge. Read the rest of this post...
How can free people grapple with growing threats to their privacy and liberty? A computer-security guru's view of the surveillance dystopia worries Becky Hogge. Read the rest of this post...
After a surprising breakthrough in negotiations, the scene is set for a full debate on intellectual-property rights and human development. Becky Hogge is encouraged, but the fight isn’t over yet. Read the rest of this post...
A new collaboration between the citizen journalists of Global Voices and Reuters promises refreshing perspectives by and from Africa, says Becky Hogge. Read the rest of this post...
As the music industry begins to move away from digital rights management, writes Becky Hogge, the European Union considers criminalising the infringement of intellectual property. Read the rest of this post...
The Data Retention Directive is incompatible with a democratic society, argues Becky Hogge, who backs Digital Rights Ireland's legal battle. Read the rest of this post...
An imminent British report on intellectual-property law will shape government policy on the balance between consumers and rightsholders. Becky Hogge sets the scene – and takes sides – in the debate to come. Read the rest of this post...
A recent deal between Microsoft and Novell has ignited the long-smouldering controversy about whether code can be owned. Is it the first step towards a two-tier software economy? Read the rest of this post...
After discussing reputation and the blogosphere, Tim Berners-Lee found his words turned upside down. Becky Hogge helps uncross the wires. Read the rest of this post...
The defence of independent news and quality journalism is vital, but is it best served by recourse to law? Becky Hogge, unillusioned techno-utopian, considers the lessons of Google's multiple legal entanglements. Read the rest of this post...
The marketisation of public choice is an infringement of freedom. At the heart of a fightback is the reclamation of language, says Becky Hogge. Read the rest of this post...
As the networked information revolution reaches a threshold for repression, Becky Hogge finds its future has already been written, and the battle lines are clear. Read the rest of this post...
The promotion of "darknets" is one response to corporate surveillance of personal data. But there is a better way to ensure privacy online, says Becky Hogge. Read the rest of this post...
Social-networking websites are drawing fire as adults lure teenagers into real-world liaisons. Defending online communities, Becky Hogge argues for education not legislation. Read the rest of this post...
As the UK government abuses copyright law to stifle free speech and obstruct freedom of information, the case of Craig Murray reveals how the impulse of power to control dissent is crushing democratic rights anew. Read the rest of this post...
Like a cuckoo in the nest, Microsoft's arrival in the Creative Commons movement threatens trouble in the free culture family. In Rio de Janeiro for the iSummit, Becky Hogge hopes that iCommons can restore the movement's cool. Read the rest of this post...
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