General elections will take place in Britain on May 8, 2015. Whereas the role of digital and social media as a communication tool in election campaigns is often discussed in public, less attention tends to be given to policy questions that concern the Internet. What is the role of media and Internet politics in the contending parties’ election manifestos?
The Role of Internet Politics in the 2015 British Election Manifestos
christian fuchs, April 22nd 2015
Google Buzz: Economic Surveillance – Buzz Off! The Problem of Online Surveillance and the Need for an Alternative Internet
Google Buzz is part of Google’s empire of economic surveillance. It gathers information about user behaviour and user interests in order to store, assess, and sell this data to advertising clients. Google’s online product advertising for Buzz says: “The first thing we all do when we find something interesting is share it. More and more of this kind of sharing takes place online. Google Buzz is a new way to share updates, photos, videos, and more”.
Do people really want to share vast amounts of private data and location data not only with their friends, but also with Google? Can Google be considered as a friend of all humans, or doesn’t it rather accumulate power that can also cause great harm to humans? Do people really always want to tell others where they currently are? Are people really interested in sharing their location data not only with selected friends, but also with Google?
christian fuchs, February 14th 2010