Pieter Verdegem interviewed by USA Today about the future of the internet

9 February 2021

Internet Regulation, Interview

Pieter Verdegem has been interviewed for an article by USA Today, Tech, about the future of the internet. The article, by Michael Braga, responds to Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s comments about the need for a reimagining of the internet to to fight back against the consolidation of power by big tech. Verdegem reflects Berners-Lee’s concerns that a handful of giant monopolies and countries are bent on collecting personal data rather than creating a free exchange of ideas. Verdegem notes that “Once a platform becomes dominant, it is able to collect more data,”; “That is what we are seeing around the world, and it explains why we have the so-called GAFAM – Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft – in the U.S. and the so-called BAT – Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent – in China.”

Data, Verdegem suggests, should be looked at as something that’s not owned by individuals or companies, but by society.

Read the full article on USA Today.