Geert Lovink on Wed, 28 Aug 2013 14:00:57 +0200 (CEST) |
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<nettime> let's rethink our relation to Google (and other large email providers in the cloud) |
(posted first on the unlike us mailinglist on alternatives in social = media /geert) From: Ulises Mejias <ulises.mejias@oswego.edu> Petition to Faculty Assembly to Form a Special Ad-hoc Committee to = Review our Relationship to Google Inc.=20 Rationale In 2010, the school decided to switch to "free" email, scheduling and = cloud storage solutions provided by Google. While I wasn't part of any = of those discussions and decisions, I believe they made sense from an = economic and technological standpoint. But even at that time, I remarked = in The Oswegonian that there were problematic issues concerning privacy, = academic freedom, and the corporatization of public education that were = worth considering.=20 I probably don't need to tell you that since then, information has come = to light about the way Google (and other companies) have collaborated = with the government in what amounts to massive and illegal violations of = citizens' privacy. Perhaps to salvage some of its image, the Do No Evil = company is filing a First Amendment case against the NSA (1). At the = same time, however, it has come to light that Google accepted money from = the government to spy on us (2), money that helped Google help the NSA = to break the law (3), even as the NSA denied it (4). Google has become an integral part of our operations at Oswego. = Personally, I am using it not only to write this, but to email students = and colleagues, collaborate with peers all around the world, deliver = classes, share documents, schedule meetings, conduct research, and so = on. Our reliance on services provided by any company, however, should = not prevent us from reexamining our relationship to that company when it = is discovered that it is in violation of basic codes of law, decency and = trust. Recommendation Consequently, I am calling on SUNY Oswego's Faculty Assembly to = immediately form an ad-hoc committee to review the college's = relationship to Google. The committee could consider a number of possible actions, including but = not limited to: =95 Requesting information from Google about the specifics of = how they report information generated through Laker Apps to the = government, and which accounts have been monitored. =95 Exploring alternatives and putting forward a recommendation = regarding whether the school should a) continue to use Laker Apps, b) = should use another 3rd party service, or c) should go back to hosting = its own services. =95 If it is deemed that the school should follow b) or c), but = cannot afford to do so, putting together an opt-out plan to allow = faculty or students not wishing to use Laker Apps to do so, and sending = a letter to all incoming students and staff informing them that the = school cannot guarantee the security of their data. I realize many of these demands are in the nature of symbolic gestures = (it is unlikely Google or the NSA will respond to any requests to = release information about their operations). Nonetheless, in times of = encroaching violations on our rights, silence and complacency are the = foremost danger to a democracy. Respectfully submitted,=20 Dr. Ulises A. Mejias Assistant Professor, Communication Studies Department 10 Lanigan Hall, SUNY Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126-3599 (315) 312-3525 References: (1) = http://money.cnn.com/2013/06/18/technology/security/google-nsa-first-amend= ment/index.html (2) = http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/nsa-prism-costs-tech-companie= s-paid (3) = http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/23/nsa-analysts-broke-rules-spy (4) = http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130821/16331524274/declassified-fisa-co= urt-opinion-shows-nsa-lied-repeatedly-to-court-as-well.shtml # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org