Collecting information, archiving it and selling it to third parties. Google and the US National Intelligence Service are essentially in the same industry, says the infamous Wikileaks co-founder in an interview with New Scientist magazine.
From his refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, fugitive Julian Assange comments on the consequences of Edward Snowden's revelations about the NSA and warns that the "concentration of power" on the Internet threatens to lead us to a dystopia.
On the role of big internet companies, Assange responds: "When it was revealed that Google was working closely with the NSA through the PRISM surveillance system, the company lost some of its luster. But after the outcry from users, Google and other Silicon Valley companies, such as Facebook, made a U-turn and tried to separate themselves from the NSA. It's as if they don't exist as political or corporate entities.".
"It's simply Google's nature to collect as much information as possible about as many people as possible. To store that information, catalog it, create a profile of each person, predict their interests, and sell those profiles to advertisers and others.".
"This is exactly the industry that the NSA is involved in [...] Since Google and the NSA are essentially the same business, the NSA tried to ride Google and extract information from it.".
Regarding his fears for the future, the Wikileaks co-founder argues that the Internet does two things. On the one hand, it centralizes power by connecting everyone to traditional centers of power, and on the other hand, it "allows for the best political education on a global level that has ever happened.".
"It's not clear which of the two will prevail. The dystopian scenario we're heading towards, at least in part, is really harsh.".
Finally, regarding his own contribution, Assange declares himself proud of some achievements, as he helped transform the Internet from the "desert, uneducated and apolitical space it was five years ago into a political space where young people can take part in history.".
He admits, however, that the anger of governments, and the accusations of sexual harassment that led him to seek asylum from Ecuador in 2012, prevented him from doing some things he would have liked to have done.
Source: zougla.gr
