Media Change, Whistleblower Protection, and "Techno-libertarianism"

Three Questions

  1. Lovink and Riemens state that media change involves "property law, privacy, free speech, and the functioning of the public sphere" based on "a far more generalized culture of anarchic exposure, beyond the traditional politics of openness and transparency." How does the intersection of modern technology and groups like Anonymous and WikiLeaks illustrate this concept about media and culture change?
  2. According to Lovink and Riemens, the principle of WikiLeaks is not to "hack" but to help anonymous insiders transfer confidential data to the public domain. How does WikiLeaks promote whistleblower protection, and does this function ever lose legitimacy when WikiLeaks allows illegal, potentially harmful acts like hacking?
  3. Lovink and Riemens claim that WikiLeaks reflects "the political values of techno-libertarianism." Does WikiLeaks reflect this political ideology?

Response

"Does WikiLeaks reflect libertarianism?"

After Lovink and Riemens claim that WikiLeaks reflects "the political values of techno-libertarianism," they connect libertarianism to anarchism and "a cult of secrecy." Based on my understanding of libertarianism, this comparison is not accurate.

First, anarchism is the absence of any government system. The closest libertarianism gets to anarchism is minarchism, which still requires the government to enforce contracts, prevent fraud, and protect our right to life, liberty, and property. WikiLeaks legitimizes and facilitates the violation of property rights by publishing private documents.

Second, libertarianism requires government transparency and accountability. Wikileaks fails to reflect this aspect of libertarianism because, as Lovink and Riemens state, WikiLeaks "displays a stunning lack of transparency in its internal organization." It is an SPO (Single Person Organization), and the founder Assange wields the concentrated power of the organization without the risk of being voted out, which conflicts "with democratic values."

Still, this organizational dictatorship needs funding to sustain itself, which means that social pressure does influence it. This sets it apart from a dictatorial government system, where the ruling powers don't need consent but can instead take it from its subjects (and acquirng funding through excessive taxes). Social pressure and the need for consent might be two of the most important factors that separate a democracy and a dictatorship.

References

Lovink, Geert, and Patrice Riemens. "Twelve theses on WikiLeaks." 7 December 2010. Eurozine. Web. Accessed 3 April 2012.