<nettime-ann> The Future of WikiLeaks with Evgeny Morozov, 20th Jan 2011 13:00 RSA London

[Geert Lovink <geert@xs4all.nl>]

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The Future of WikiLeaks 20th Jan 2011 13:00 RSA London

The recent leaks of diplomatic cables have prompted fierce US  
criticism of the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. But, argues,  
internet  commentator Evgeny Morozov, the US could take a different  
view.

In the future, WikiLeaks-style organisations could be useful allies of  
the West as it seeks to husband democracy and support human rights.  
And, argues Morozov, the state that will benefit most from this course  
of action, is America itself.

The White House is currently engaged in a fresh move to promote open  
government around the globe. Chastising a group that aims to "keep  
governments open" threatens to stall progress in these areas.

Morozov believes that WikiLeaks currently stands at a crossroads: one  
route ahead would see a radical global network systematically  
challenging those in power – governments and companies alike – just  
for the sake of undermining “the system". The current quest for  
transparency could soon become an exercise in anger, one leak at a time.

Alternatively, WikiLeaks could continue moving in the more sensible  
direction that, in some ways, it is already on: collaborating with  
traditional media, redacting sensitive files, and offering those in a  
position to know about potential victims of releases the chance to vet  
the data.

It is a choice between WikiLeaks becoming a new Red Brigade, or a new  
Transparency International. And, argues Morozov, forcing Mr Assange to  
go down the former route would have far more disastrous implications  
for American interests than anything revealed by "cable-gate".

Speaker: Evgeny Morozov, visiting scholar at Stanford University, and  
author of The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom (Allen  
Lane, January 2011)


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