This article was originally published on Salon.com on December 6, 2010.

Journalists should wake up and realize that the attacks on the whistle-blower are attacks on them, too

Journalists cover wars by not taking sides. But when the war is on free speech itself, neutrality is no longer an option.

The WikiLeaks releases are a pivotal moment in the future of journalism. They raise any number of ethical and legal issues for journalists, but one is becoming paramount.

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This article was originally published on Salon.com on December 3, 2010.

Attacks on WikiLeaks are part of an attack on free speech, aided by the companies that make up the Web’s backbone

UPDATED

The WikiLeaks affair is highlighting the Internet’s soft underbelly: the intermediaries on which we all rely to store our information and make it available. We are learning, to our dismay, that we cannot trust them. Combine that with increasing government intervention, we’re also learning that the Internet is somewhat easier to censor than we’d assumed.

This should worry anyone who believes that we’re going to move our data and online lives into the fabled “cloud” — the diffused online array of hardware and services where, proponents say, we can do our online work, play and commerce without the need for storing data on our own personal computers. Trusting the cloud is becoming an act of faith, and it’s time to question that faith.

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If you’re in the Washington, DC, area and have an interest in the new media world, please join us for a conversation about Mediactive at the New American Foundation. It’s on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 5:30 pm.

Here are the details.

This article was originally published on Salon.com on December 2, 2010.

The FTC’s proposal is a potentially useful improvement in our woefully inadequate online privacy

Americans have become so numb to the relentless erosion of our privacy that we tend to view even small advances with skepticism, if not outright cynicism. Such is the case with yesterday’s Federal Trade Commission proposal for a “do not track” system, whereby people could tell online marketers that they don’t want their online activities to be captured and used by websites or online advertising firms.

The FTC’s report is just that: a document with no regulatory power. But FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz told reporters in a conference call that the commission will urge Congress to act if the industry doesn’t “step to the plate.” I take the need for congressional action as a given, since the online industry’s self-regulation has ranged from weak to bogus.

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This article was originally published on Salon.com on November 29, 2010.

Among others: How secret are diplomatic cables when 3 million people have access to them?

UPDATED

Once again, WikiLeaks has thrown governments and journalists into a maelstrom of fear, uncertainty and doubt. It’ll be weeks, if not longer, before we know the full scope of the diplomatic cables, but a few things are already clear enough.

What we know is being covered relentlessly here and across the Web. It’s what we don’t know that I’d like to note. So, here are some questions, many of which prompted by tweets and commentary elsewhere, for the major players in this drama.

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This article was originally published on Salon.com on November 15, 2010.

The social networking giant wants all of your conversations to happen on its site. You should think twice.

UPDATED

Facebook wants you to live, online, in Facebook.com, and it wants to be the main repository for your online identity. Its new, all-in-one messaging system will encourage more people to do just that.

Which is why, despite the overall smartness of the initative, I believe people should be wary about using the Facebook Messages platform. I don’t believe Facebook should dominate people’s online experiences, and the idea of the company becoming the de facto online identity holder is downright scary. Before I discuss why, let’s look at what the company announced on Monday in San Francisco.

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This article was originally published on Salon on November 8, 2010.

Princeton computer scientist named FTC’s chief technology officer; he could make a real difference.

Ed Felten is a mad scientist. In the best possible way.

A computer scientist and Princeton University professor by trade, and a tinkerer at heart, Felten has been pushing and prodding at the edges of technology and policy for well over a decade. He and his colleagues have been showing us bugs in all kinds of systems  — and showing up powerful institutions in the process.

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Shane Richmond, head of editorial technology at the Telegraph in London, says on his 26books.com site:

Everyone who uses or contributes to the media should read this book. It’s a welcome injection of sanity.

Thanks!