Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society
- Downloads：1169
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-07-31 07:53:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Ronald J. Deibert
- ISBN：1912836777
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
In the 2020 CBC Massey Lectures， bestselling author and renowned technology and security expert Ronald J。 Deibert exposes the disturbing influence and impact of the internet on politics， the economy， the environment， and humanity。
Digital technologies have given rise to a new machine-based civilization that is increasingly linked to a growing number of social and political maladies。 Accountability is weak and insecurity is endemic， creating disturbing opportunities for exploitation。
Drawing from the cutting-edge research of the Citizen Lab， the world-renowned digital security research group which he founded and directs， Ronald J。 Deibert exposes the impacts of this communications ecosystem on civil society。 He tracks a mostly unregulated surveillance industry， innovations in technologies of remote control， superpower policing practices， dark PR firms， and highly profitable hack-for-hire services feeding off rivers of poorly secured personal data。 Deibert also unearths how dependence on social media and its expanding universe of consumer electronics creates immense pressure on the natural environment。 In order to combat authoritarian practices， environmental degradation， and rampant electronic consumerism， he urges restraints on tech platforms and governments to reclaim the internet for civil society。
Digital technologies have given rise to a new machine-based civilization that is increasingly linked to a growing number of social and political maladies。 Accountability is weak and insecurity is endemic， creating disturbing opportunities for exploitation。
Drawing from the cutting-edge research of the Citizen Lab， the world-renowned digital security research group which he founded and directs， Ronald J。 Deibert exposes the impacts of this communications ecosystem on civil society。 He tracks a mostly unregulated surveillance industry， innovations in technologies of remote control， superpower policing practices， dark PR firms， and highly profitable hack-for-hire services feeding off rivers of poorly secured personal data。 Deibert also unearths how dependence on social media and its expanding universe of consumer electronics creates immense pressure on the natural environment。 In order to combat authoritarian practices， environmental degradation， and rampant electronic consumerism， he urges restraints on tech platforms and governments to reclaim the internet for civil society。
Reviews
Jessica Liew
，
There's no need to fear that you need to be tech savvy to read this book。 The information is very accessible and will be quite eye-opening if this is not something you pay a lot of attention to。 Definitely an important read for anyone who uses the internet， social media， smartphones， or any other technology。 There's no need to fear that you need to be tech savvy to read this book。 The information is very accessible and will be quite eye-opening if this is not something you pay a lot of attention to。 Definitely an important read for anyone who uses the internet， social media， smartphones， or any other technology。 。。。more
Jonn
，
A good overview of current issues we collectively face around social media， cyber-security， disinformation and freedom of expression on the web - however， if you read about this topic a lot， you might not get much new out of it。 Also， a bit light on solutions other than “restraint” - but precious little is said about what that should mean for the average social media user as opposed to governments and policy makers。
Geoffrey Kelley
，
That damn technology。。。。can’t live with it， can’t live without it。 In “Reset”， Ronald Deibert raises alarm bells at many aspects of increasing dependence （ addiction？） to our phones， tablets， apps， as our screen time swallows up more and more of our waking hours。 The book is based on the CBC Massey Lectures ， and Deibert covers the political ， economic and social consequences of our Internet world。 Of special interest is the environmental impact of our obsession， from mining the rare earths requ That damn technology。。。。can’t live with it， can’t live without it。 In “Reset”， Ronald Deibert raises alarm bells at many aspects of increasing dependence （ addiction？） to our phones， tablets， apps， as our screen time swallows up more and more of our waking hours。 The book is based on the CBC Massey Lectures ， and Deibert covers the political ， economic and social consequences of our Internet world。 Of special interest is the environmental impact of our obsession， from mining the rare earths required for our instruments to the mammoth energy required to make our cellular networks run。 Once outlining the problems of “ fake news”， the decline of civility， the privacy risks， and other vital issues， Deibert tries to offer solutions。 This is much harder work， as he bases his solution on the principle of restraint。 I find this optimistic， because it is a difficult task to fight any addiction。 Restraint is often easier said than done！ 。。。more
Paul
，
The internet。 It is either one of the best inventions that humanity has ever made or one of the worst。 Sometimes it is difficult to know which is the right answer。 It has put people with similar interests in contact with each other and who have benefitted greatly from that relationship。 The flip side is that it is an easy and secure way for those with a more criminal perspective to exploit and steal from the innocent。As the growing quantities of digital data swirl around the internet in what fee The internet。 It is either one of the best inventions that humanity has ever made or one of the worst。 Sometimes it is difficult to know which is the right answer。 It has put people with similar interests in contact with each other and who have benefitted greatly from that relationship。 The flip side is that it is an easy and secure way for those with a more criminal perspective to exploit and steal from the innocent。As the growing quantities of digital data swirl around the internet in what feels like an ever-increasing exponential curve， just who is looking at this data？ It turns out that there is a vast unregulated industry that has a keen interest in what you are looking at and the sites that you are visiting。 These consist of surveillance companies and government security agencies， dark PR agencies， hackers for hire， and others interested in manipulating things to their own agenda。Like a couple of the other books that I have read recently， some of the things revealed in this book are quite terrifying。 And I mean really terrifying。 It is a problem that is not going away and coupled with the internet giants that control a lot of the data that we produce and consume， they seem unable or unwilling to do much about it。 Probably as the current status quo is too profitable for them。So where do we even start dealing with these issues？Diebert has a whole chapter dedicated to suggestions on way to tackle these issues， called Retreat， Reform Restraint。 In this， there are many different ways that he thinks might work， such as better international cooperation， a relinquishing of the grip that the global corporates elites have on us， and a suggestion that I hadn’t considered， removing anonymity from users。He is an engaging writer， and it comes across in the text that he knows his stuff， making this an authentic read。 He has got some solid ideas about the ways that we need to reclaim the internet once again for the good of humanity。 Always remember， if you are not paying for something then you are the product。 。。。more
Lindsay Smith-Munoz
，
Rarely do I wish I could give a book more than 5 stars。 Not just interesting， thoughtful and well-written， but important
Martijn
，
The second book by Mr Citizen Lab on all the bad things happening on the Internet， in particular those bad things committed by powerful actors， and their impact on civil society。 The sort of stuff I follow because of a professional and personal interest， but it's a good book to have read as a reference。 The second book by Mr Citizen Lab on all the bad things happening on the Internet， in particular those bad things committed by powerful actors， and their impact on civil society。 The sort of stuff I follow because of a professional and personal interest， but it's a good book to have read as a reference。 。。。more
Matthew Brehmer
，
The 2020 CBC Massey Lecture series， so the level of detail is higher than other books on the topic。 Certainly a good and timely synthesis。 The Citizen Lab’s connections to to Khashoggi case and being harassed by ex-Mossad surveillance tech contractors was unsettling。 The final chapter on restraint is quite good， discussing small ‘r’ republican political theory and its concern with checks and balances such as antitrust measures， the call for tech companies to be considered public utilities， and a The 2020 CBC Massey Lecture series， so the level of detail is higher than other books on the topic。 Certainly a good and timely synthesis。 The Citizen Lab’s connections to to Khashoggi case and being harassed by ex-Mossad surveillance tech contractors was unsettling。 The final chapter on restraint is quite good， discussing small ‘r’ republican political theory and its concern with checks and balances such as antitrust measures， the call for tech companies to be considered public utilities， and a reconsideration of public education: shifting from economic imperatives to a concern for the civic commons。 。。。more
Jane
，
This is the expert we need， laying out research and history and implications and a way forward。 His analysis of what the internet has done to civil society and the role of “surveillance capitalism” that gives us “free” access to apps that mine and sell our data is thorough and a call to action。This book isn’t reactionary but factual。 And， the last chapter paints a way forward。 We’ve been here before， where technological advances have moved faster than our understanding of the collateral damage。 This is the expert we need， laying out research and history and implications and a way forward。 His analysis of what the internet has done to civil society and the role of “surveillance capitalism” that gives us “free” access to apps that mine and sell our data is thorough and a call to action。This book isn’t reactionary but factual。 And， the last chapter paints a way forward。 We’ve been here before， where technological advances have moved faster than our understanding of the collateral damage。 The text， filled with examples， is very readable。 The first four chapters lay out how the marketplace exploits our data， individual impact and addiction， the political abuse of power the data fosters， and the horrific impact on the environment that the internet and our devices have。 （Did you know sending an email has the same carbon footprint as driving your car a kilometer？）Deliberate ends with a note of hope that we’ve been here before and we can collectively again reclaim the public sphere so it works for all of us and for our planet。 A high goal， but he points out the similarities to climate change and a need to act local， think global with an awareness of individual impact and the need for systemic change。 。。。more
Phil
，
Essential reading。
Angelina Marie
，
Non-fiction books are always harder for me to get into， so I already have a natural bias; however， I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of voice and expression that Deibert brought to his equally exciting content matter。 While the final chapter did drag， his lectures were insightful， fear-inducing in the best way， and extremely well-written。 Coming away from this book， you truly feel like you have a new outlook on the operations of our world。 I would recommend this book to everyone: not on Non-fiction books are always harder for me to get into， so I already have a natural bias; however， I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of voice and expression that Deibert brought to his equally exciting content matter。 While the final chapter did drag， his lectures were insightful， fear-inducing in the best way， and extremely well-written。 Coming away from this book， you truly feel like you have a new outlook on the operations of our world。 I would recommend this book to everyone: not only is it a great read， but the horror stories will significantly decrease your screen time。 。。。more
Brent Latimer
，
This is an important book to capture the modern concerns on the effects of technology on society across the planet。 I feel everyone in government， especially those in democratic countries need to read this book。 It does not matter if the government employee directly works with technology the impacts will certainly be present。It is hard to come away from this book with anything actionable。 The unfortunate scenario is our society has become deeply integrated into the internet， making it extremely This is an important book to capture the modern concerns on the effects of technology on society across the planet。 I feel everyone in government， especially those in democratic countries need to read this book。 It does not matter if the government employee directly works with technology the impacts will certainly be present。It is hard to come away from this book with anything actionable。 The unfortunate scenario is our society has become deeply integrated into the internet， making it extremely difficult to even reduce participation。 What the book does offer is awareness。 Awareness of how our choices and actions matter with respect to engagement with social media and "always on" digital devices。In the past few months I have found myself drifting away from engaging in social media。 I rarely post on instagram or facebook。 I have mitigated my mindless scrolling through the "Digital Wellbeing" app that limits use outside of 5am-4pm and time caps use per app。 At home I have Pihole DNS servers that block ads and trackers （also have unbound DNS resolver） with wireguard VPN to use the servers when not at home。 Still looking to gradually reduce my participation through use of DuckDuckGo for web searches and Signal for messaging。One area I found disingenuous was the section on the environmental impact。 The claims of CO2 impact per email assumes we are using carbon generating electricity sources， my province is primarily nuclear supplemented with gas （not good）， solar and wind - coal plants have all been shutdown。 Also the water usage by data centres appears to be claiming that the freshwater is consumed rather than returned to the environment。 My understanding is water usage for data centres like nuclear power plants is for cooling heat exchangers and is returned to the environment with an increased temperature。 。。。more
Kara Babcock
，
Every year my dad buys me the CBC Massey Lectures book， and last year was no exception！ Reading Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society after the events of January 6， in which white supremacist and fascist Americans， incited by their own president， stormed their own Capitol Building， was a trip。 As Ronald J。 Deibert unpacked the problematic aspects of our reliance upon social media， all I could think about was the role social media played on and around January 6—the way far-right platfo Every year my dad buys me the CBC Massey Lectures book， and last year was no exception！ Reading Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society after the events of January 6， in which white supremacist and fascist Americans， incited by their own president， stormed their own Capitol Building， was a trip。 As Ronald J。 Deibert unpacked the problematic aspects of our reliance upon social media， all I could think about was the role social media played on and around January 6—the way far-right platform Parler was used to plan the riot， the way people on Twitter immediately began identifying rioters， and the way now， afterwards， social media has been used to discuss， dissect， and evaluate the event。I joined “social media” in 2007 when Facebook opened up to non-college students。 Graduating high school， it felt like a nice way to stay in touch with my peers （I barely talk to anyone from high school now， of course）。 The following year， I joined Twitter， which I would say is the main social network I use these days。 However， I am old enough to remember the golden age of the web: after the days of walled gardens like CompuServe and AOL， but before the days of walled gardens like Facebook， Twitter， etc。 （For an excellent read on how platforms have replaced protocols， check out the unfortunately prescient The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It by Jonathan Zittrain。） I’ve lived through many iterations of social media and networks， some of which I’ve participated in， while others I have eschewed as not for me。 I don’t think I would be alone in shuddering with the accuracy with which Deibert identifies our dependence upon not just our phones but social media in particular。Oh， by the way， my best friend and I have a podcast and we released a two-part episode about The Social Dilemma （recorded before I read Reset）。 Listen if you want to hear more of my thoughts on social media—now for my thoughts on this book。I’m always impressed by how variable the Massey Lecture books are in style。 This comes with the diversity of speakers， of course。 Some are telling a story; others， like Deibert， sound like they are lecturing on public policy to a group of university students。 This is fine， but if you have regularly enjoyed the Massey Lectures in the past， you might find this one a departure in terms of density and jargon。The first parts of the book will sound dire， especially to anyone who is new to the topics and ideas Deibert covers。 I was already very aware of much of the surveillance Deibert mentions， so that didn’t faze me。 Nevertheless， when you put it all together the way he does in this book， it forms a startling picture。 We have abdicated so much of our privacy already， and one of the central questions of Reset is whether or not we can possibly reclaim that privacy in a meaningful way。Perhaps one of the most important parts of this book， for me at least， comes near the end。 Deibert addresses the environmental impact of how we currently use these technologies—from Bitcoin to Google searches， the Internet consumes power and water， and the devices that give us access demand an ever-increasing supply of precious minerals and dangerous substances。 I love that he brings this up， because it is something we often overlook as a result of our view of the Internet as existing within “the Cloud”—the Cloud has a physical existence， albeit a distributed one， and it costs energy and resources to maintain。 Deibert’s reminder that our technology problems dovetail with the larger problem of climate change is a nice way to help us understand how， to move forward as a civilization， we can’t just fix one thing。 We can’t just fix the Internet without doing it in an environmentally responsible way—nor will we be able to tend to the environment if we continue to use the Internet like we do now。At the end of the book， Deibert actually addresses what he means by the title， what he envisions as a possible future for our online lives。 In doing so he slides from sociology and philosophy of technology over into political science and political philosophy。 He gives us some basic tutoring in concepts of liberalism， republicanism， etc。， before deploying these as foundations for reimagining our Internet society。 Although I appreciate the connections he tries to make， this part feels rushed。 Maybe I’ve been too lucky to read so many good history books that explore these ideas， but Deibert doesn’t do the topic justice。 Moreover， in his attempt to ground his ideas for the Internet in a philosophical/political framework， he inadvertently erases certain layers of nuance。 For example， his philosophy is inextricably Western in its foundations。 Yet if we ever have hope of truly remodelling the Internet to be more equitable， more inclusive， and more privacy-centric， how can we do so if we don’t embrace Eastern， Middle Eastern， Southern， and especially Indigenous perspectives？Basically， I think Deibert does an excellent job communicating the problems of our Internet， particularly social media。 The solution frameworks he lays out are vague。 This is not so much because he doesn’t seem to have ideas for improvement。 Rather， whether as a result of space/time constraints or a flaw in his actual thinking， his solution frameworks are heavy on theory but light on nuance， practicality， and intersectionality。All in all， this is a good read。 But I think it really addresses this issue from a particular perspective。 If you want to learn more about this stuff， you need to go further and read other voices。 You need to hear from people who have been harassed online， and we need to listen to the voices of marginalized people， including Black people， Indigenous people， and LGBTQ+ people。 I agree with Deibert that this is a battle to be fought at an organizational and governmental level—but Reset only provides a starting point， not a roadmap。Originally posted on Kara。Reviews， where you can easily browse all my reviews and subscribe to my newsletter。 。。。more
David Annable
，
A superbly well written book offering the kind of insight that only someone in the unique position that Diebert holds could illuminate。 This should be required reading for just about any adult living in the modern world。 Diebert and Citizen Lab are more important than ever （and a point of Canadian national pride to boot）。
Brian Clegg
，
The subtitle underscores a topic of 'reclaiming the internet for civil society'。 There is no doubt that the internet has given us huge benefits - never more obvious than during the COVID pandemic - but Ronald Deibert argues that it also presents huge dangers， both from the state being able to gather data on citizens and from corporations indulging in 'surveillance capitalism' - making money out of keeping track of us and our data。 Both of these are certainly significant issues that need to be ex The subtitle underscores a topic of 'reclaiming the internet for civil society'。 There is no doubt that the internet has given us huge benefits - never more obvious than during the COVID pandemic - but Ronald Deibert argues that it also presents huge dangers， both from the state being able to gather data on citizens and from corporations indulging in 'surveillance capitalism' - making money out of keeping track of us and our data。 Both of these are certainly significant issues that need to be explored。The majority of the book gives a depressingly dark picture of an internet where we are constantly observed， while the last pages come up with a form of response - the reset of the title。 Unlike the stark specifics of the description of the problem， the suggested solution is far more tenuous， coming down primarily to being more 'republican' （with a small r， not the policies of the US political party of the same name）。I'll be honest， I found Reset hard going， not because of the dire state of the internet but more because Deibert's writing style is dense and loaded with soft science/political jargon。 The book also can sound like an advertising brochure for his Citizen Lab organisation， which sometimes gets several mentions on a single page。 The description of the over-reaching state side of the problem is very one-sided， focussed entirely on civil liberties without any significant consideration of the real need for state intelligence-gathering， or， for that matter， the huge everyday benefits we get from using the internet。 At one point only， Deibert admits that states do need to perform intelligence gathering - but at no point does he actual weave that need into the narrative， which is all about the dark side。 Similarly， when he gets on to solutions， there's a mention， for example， of the value of end-to-end encryption to keep our conversations private - but nothing about how to deal with terrorists and criminal gangs using this same technology。Deibert rightly points out that the 'You've nothing to fear if you've nothing to hide' argument is wrong， although he doesn't mention that one of the biggest reasons for this at the moment is that if you work for an organisation like a university， you need to hide any deviation from left wing true-believer status if you are to succeed。 But outside the action of repressive states （something that happens with or without the internet） he then fails to give good examples of individuals suffering， despite having nothing to hide - the examples tend to be about organisations。 Deibert is also effective on the need to restrain the behaviour of corporates， making their sharing and use of our information more transparent （and in pointing out the GDPR just imposes on us far more irritating clicks with very limited real protection）。 Once again， however， the solutions aren't really there。 I don't blame him - it's very difficult to frame solutions that don't become state censorship， but we are where we are。A particular irritation for a non-US reader is the framing of the solution as republicanism， with examples mostly drawn from the US and its constitution - to those of us outside of North America this can sound like so much US imperialism and exceptionalism。 I don't live in a republic， and I certainly wouldn't like to live in one run the way that the US is。Overall， then， an important topic， but an unbalanced book that doesn't address potential solutions in any useful way。 。。。more
Hossen
，
Ever have strong urges to completely abandon modern life and just go live in a cabin in the woods for a couple months？ Me neither， however this book did stoke those flames。 I think we all on some level are aware of just how invasive technology has become， but， since we are not experiencing its direct consequences， we simply ignore this fact。 Prof Deibert brings these concerns to the forefront， and while most of his arguments only apply to either those in direct combat with the players in questio Ever have strong urges to completely abandon modern life and just go live in a cabin in the woods for a couple months？ Me neither， however this book did stoke those flames。 I think we all on some level are aware of just how invasive technology has become， but， since we are not experiencing its direct consequences， we simply ignore this fact。 Prof Deibert brings these concerns to the forefront， and while most of his arguments only apply to either those in direct combat with the players in question （companies specialized specifically in cybercrime and data breaching， questionable operations undergone by government intelligence agencies， or simply technological conglomerates such as Facebook）， there are no real repercussions for the average first world denizen。 Much like climate change， the severe repercussions of these systems are just to "out there" for anyone to care about， meaning these bad actors can keep leaching off our willful ignorance。 Regardless， I found the first half of the book thoroughly enjoyable， with some scenarios feeling like they belong in an espionage action thriller。 Where this book fumbles however， is when it's time to propose solutions for this hyper accelerating machine of digitization and technology。 The suggestion is simply "neoliberalism"。 More or less， the cure ends up being to throw and cast restraints on surveillance capitalism， and kind of just attempt to subdue it。 It seems to me like just symptomatic treatment， instead of analyzing the underlying mechanisms that cause them。 How can governments be put in charge of maintaining this ever expanding Goliath when they are "manifestations of the interests of the elites that make them up"？ （pg 326）。 To me， it seems like another compromise。 But， to be fair， it's the most realistic。 It's not as if an entire upheaval of the current structure of the economy and society is as possible as attempting to levy the powers of already established institutions against these corporations。 In the end， pretty entertaining read， and there's a nice irony in writing a review on a book outlining the dangers of social media on a social media website。 。。。more
Myles
，
I am one of those curmudgeons who is quietly celebrating the side-effects of the global pandemic: the almost magical decline in global transportation and its salutary effects on the environment: air so clean children in an Indian village can see the Himalayas for the first time; Arctic waters so quiet that whales can hear each other across a bay or even across an ocean; millions upon millions of automobiles standing unused in driveways and not belching carbon dioxide in office commutes; internat I am one of those curmudgeons who is quietly celebrating the side-effects of the global pandemic: the almost magical decline in global transportation and its salutary effects on the environment: air so clean children in an Indian village can see the Himalayas for the first time; Arctic waters so quiet that whales can hear each other across a bay or even across an ocean; millions upon millions of automobiles standing unused in driveways and not belching carbon dioxide in office commutes; international air travel and cruise lines ground almost to a halt。At what cost？Ron Diebert tells us at what cost: ever-rising volumes of data traffic flowing over global digital networks。 And rising volumes of data traffic are supplied by dirty electricity from coal plants in India， China， and the United States。Huge volumes of fresh water are consumed to cool the data farms in temperate climates。And ever larger quantities of rare earth minerals mined in dangerous open-pit mining operations in Africa， in China’s south and near the Mongolian border， even Australia。To be fair， the cost of data flows cannot be laid at the feet of the pandemic。 The transition to the digital highways began years before and accelerated with the dramatic rise in bandwidth， the decline in data storage costs， and the ever improving algorithms to transmit video。Our “contact free” shopping experiences on amazon are what we see。 What we do not see are the electricity consumption， the evil working conditions， the polluting courier trips， and the enormous generation of waste in making the slick electronic devices we are addicted to。 Not to mention the lost jobs in local commerce。The waste generated by our cupidity is merely one of several evils Ron Diebert tracks in “Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society。”Most obviously there is the device addiction which interferes in our human relationships。There is the role surveillance plays in commerce and capitalism， and the role surveillance plays in covert government operations and the abuse of such power。Diebert returns to the concept of “surveillance capitalism” and how our preferences and digital wandering have become the means by which global giants like Google， Alibaba， Tencent， and facebook predict our purchasing behaviour。I agree with him that that it is a serious infringement on our privacy， and a risk to our democracies。 But we all surveil。 I do it in my business。 You do it in your home and neighbourhood。 Our need to surveil， I think， goes even deeper than Diebert credits us。Diebert correctly shines a light on the data spies corporate， government， and freelance。 So much of what we say and think can be used against us for nefarious purposes， as we’ve recently witnessed in the tampering of cellphones by the Saudi government， the social credit system of the Chinese， and Russian GRU-financed hackers。These data networks are not all for the good。 There are some very bad actors。 Diebert does not go into the gigantic porn industry。 Nor does he wade into the money laundering occurring on a global scale。 There are the tax havens， and the tax cheats， many of whom are using the global connections to steal or hide their fortunes。Quite rightly， Diebert goes along with many other commentators that the answers to some of these problems include better international governance。 As if that were likely。He blames the lack of international coordination on the vice like grip of the corporate elites on commerce， somewhat like Naomi Klein。 To some degree I’d agree， but watching the chaos in Washington DC this week I’d say that a lot of Americans are on board with fewer constraints， and less cooperation。If you breath the word “socialism” in polite American society you are branded a radical and a Communist。 Forget about cooperation from these people。Diebert pleads for restraint in our consumerism and electronic habits; restraint in our government spy agencies; and constraint of the corporate data behemoths。 。。。more
Nader Rizkalla
，
This book qualifies as an essential reading for understanding the contemporary world。 A very readable book that details the danger of the world in which we live in terms of our exposure （by using advanced communication technology and revealing all the details of our lives， whether with our knowledge or not） to be prey for full commercial exploitation and manipulating our ideas and views as well as violating our privacy。Communication technology and social media faced a real test in the time of CO This book qualifies as an essential reading for understanding the contemporary world。 A very readable book that details the danger of the world in which we live in terms of our exposure （by using advanced communication technology and revealing all the details of our lives， whether with our knowledge or not） to be prey for full commercial exploitation and manipulating our ideas and views as well as violating our privacy。Communication technology and social media faced a real test in the time of COVID-19 and did not prove that it is an effective way to prevent the spread of an epidemic。 On the contrary it had many negative effects！And what is the solution？It is "restrain" in the opinion of the writer; the creation of mechanisms to impose control and regulate the social media， especially to limit our exploiting users commercially and violating privacy and human rights 。 The book authored by the founder of the “Citizen Lab” （Munk Global Affairs School， UofT）， is very well illustrated by real life examples and cases that proves its thesis。 。。。more
Tim
，
Hits all the points it needs too in the summary of how it all went awry。 I don’t think I agree much with the call to action it advocates。
Sarah Catherine
，
I really loved part 5 （about environmental consequences）。 It's so often ignored by people。 I really loved part 5 （about environmental consequences）。 It's so often ignored by people。 。。。more
Kim
，
2020 Massey Lecture， author is the founder & director of Citizen Lab which studies technology， surveillance & censorship
Emily Deibert
，
Perfect for fans of Deibert's first book "Black Code" or Snowden's "Permanent Record"。Written to accompany the 2020 CBC Massey Lectures， RESET details what Deibert calls the "painful truths" behind social media， the internet， and surveillance capitalism， and lays the groundwork for a solution。 The book benefits from Deibert's expertise on the topic of the internet/cyber security as well as his formal training in international relations， and is a highly engaging （albeit frightening） read。I partic Perfect for fans of Deibert's first book "Black Code" or Snowden's "Permanent Record"。Written to accompany the 2020 CBC Massey Lectures， RESET details what Deibert calls the "painful truths" behind social media， the internet， and surveillance capitalism， and lays the groundwork for a solution。 The book benefits from Deibert's expertise on the topic of the internet/cyber security as well as his formal training in international relations， and is a highly engaging （albeit frightening） read。I particularly enjoyed the firsthand look into many of Deibert's experiences （for example， his experience with the Snowden disclosures）。 I also really enjoyed the chapter on environmental effects of the internet， which I hadn't seen discussed in great detail before， as well as how Deibert draws a parallel between the climate crisis and the current state of the internet and social media。 I was impressed by the solutions offered and left the book feeling hopeful for the future of the internet and civil society。 。。。more
rabble。ca
，