Influx Of Extremists January 16, 2021 Privacy I’m all for privacy-focused and decentralized systems where censorship is limited or even impossible. End-to-end encrypted conversations or decentralized social media platforms are designed this way, for the good (or bad) of everyone. I can understand why sometimes censorship as bad as it can be is necessary to prevent the worst from happening. We’ve all seen what happened on January 6th, 2021 and big tech’s reaction to the crisis. As a European citizen, I’ve been closely following the US’s situation, and I’m still worried. I’m concerned by far-right groups and polarization of the US and other nations. I’ve seen a large increase of conspiracy theorists in the past years, and for that, I can easily blame the internet, to be more precise, Social Media. I’m also seeing how monopolies aren’t being adequately regulated. The latest example is Apple’s and Google’s (correct) decision to ban Parler from their platforms. And Amazon banning Parler from their AWS hosting infrastructure. Firstly, Parler’s inability to stay online is laughable, and it’s clear that Parler is yet another silicon valley startup run by ego and data. Secondly, I’ve also learned that Parler’s co-founder Rebekah Mercer is a daughter of Robert Mercer, a key investor in Cambridge Analytica. Parler wasn’t just a place for far-right Trump supporters, but a social media run by a big data business model. Finally, I’m happy that Parler is currently suspended on most platforms, but that raises concerns about other applications and services and their gateway to the internet. Signal is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app that I absolutely love and use daily for those you didn’t know. With the increase of new users, I’m seeing comments like “Signal is now a new place for QAnon people”. It’s true, anyone can join Signal, but almost every internet service is at some level being abused and used by bad people. My concern is mostly about Signals ability to stay online. I’m not talking about the past couple of days where Signal is experiencing server issues because of a new influx of users from WhatsApp. I’m talking about a platform based availability. Signal is an app-based application that you can install on your iOS or Android device (there are also official clients for Windows, Mac and Linux). If Apple decided to pull the plug, for whatever reason, Signal wouldn’t be accessible to all iOS users, and that’s a lot of people. Companies like Apple and Google are monopolies if you like it or not. Their real power is now being displayed more than ever. I promise more light-headed blog entries in the future. Tags: Decentralization Encryption