[okfn-discuss] OKFN and Reset the Net

Thu Jun 5 15:58:22 UTC 2014

I'm in Vienna at an OKFN hackathon. I've seen strong suggestions on the
Continent that UK is siding with US and letting Europe down.

Peter (OK Advisory Board)

On Thu, Jun 5, 2014 at 5:45 PM, Friedrich Lindenberg <
friedrich.lindenberg at okfn.org> wrote:

> Indeed, thats a strange argument - I would have gone for “it’s a bit late
> now” or “our CMS is too complicated” :)
>
> There’s something nice and clean about the idea that OKF will only ever
> lobby for data release and not any particular other political goal.
>
> Yet somehow the idea that US and UK intelligence can, on a global scale,
> compromise the infrastructure of the net to turn it into a sort of virtual
> security state seems to me like it would affect OKF’s goals on a deeper
> level. It fucks with the commons, makes it unusable as a space for open
> collaboration. Chilling effects apply to open government.
>
> On a much more pragmatic level, this whole thing makes everyone who utters
> the words “open government” with an American or British accent look like a
> character out of “Yes, Minister”.
>
> - Friedrich
>
>
> On 05 Jun 2014, at 17:28, William Waites <ww at eris.okfn.org> wrote:
>
> > Hi Laura,
> >
> > That is a pretty bizarre position to take and seems to show a
> > surprising lack of understanding of the environment in which OKF
> > operates. For example, suppose a journalist or civil servant wants to
> > use some Open Data in order to draw attention to some problem in
> > government. Do you think it is appropriate for the same government
> > to be spying on them while they do this and if they are a civil servant
> > perhaps dismiss them on a pretext before they can finish and publish
> > their research? Do you think when the public sector publishes
> > information that it is appropriate to keep tabs on who is using that
> > information and for what?
> >
> > "Does not quite fit within [OKF's] remit" is alarmingly out of step
> > with the rest of the 'net. Have a look at the list of which other
> > organisations supporting this and ask yourself if it appears to be
> > within you understand as their remit.
> >
> > Please reconsider :)
> >
> > -w
> >
> > On Thu, 5 Jun 2014 14:30:40 +0100
> > Laura James <laura.james at okfn.org> wrote:
> >
> >> Hi Will,
> >>
> >> Reset the Net is an interesting initiative around freedom from mass
> >> surveillance by government. We try to focus our Open Knowledge
> >> endorsements on projects with a clear open data / open knowledge
> >> element. There's lots of causes out there which we might well support
> >> as individuals, especially around digital rights and so forth, but as
> >> an organisation we feel it's best to focus our support on causes
> >> directly related to our work and mission, which most likely means
> >> that we can be confident that Open Knowledge folks would support the
> >> cause. My sense is that Reset the Net doesn't quite fall within this
> >> remit; what do others think?
> >>
> >> Of course, Local Groups and Chapters may make their own decisions on
> >> such initiatives, in consultation with the appropriate local board of
> >> directors and community, and to ensure if they do sign that they make
> >> it clear what organisation or group they represent - ie the Chapter
> >> or the specific Local Group.
> >>
> >> Best regards,
> >>
> >> Laura
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> On 5 June 2014 12:19, William Waites <ww at eris.okfn.org> wrote:
> >>
> >>> It's not too late, and it'd be really good to have the
> >>> https://www.resetthenet.org/ banner or splash page up
> >>> today on the okfn.org web site
> >>>
> >>>
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> >>
> >>
> >
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-- 
Peter Murray-Rust
Reader in Molecular Informatics
Unilever Centre, Dep. Of Chemistry
University of Cambridge
CB2 1EW, UK
+44-1223-763069
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