Something has changed—the progressive spaces that used to be the biggest defenders of free speech and digital autonomy now frequently side with BigTech and Big Government.

NetworkAffects explores digital authoritarianism - privacy threats, bio-metric ID, surveillance, programmable currencies, and attacks on digital civil liberties and free expression from the ‘anti-disinformation’ and ‘fact-checking’ fields.

I have worked in human rights and technology for more than 25 years. For almost 18 years I lead EngageMedia, an Asia-Pacific digital rights, open and secure technology, and documentary non-profit.

I am now CEO of liber-net, a digital civil liberties initiative.

I am a former fellow of Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society and MIT’s Open Documentary Lab.

I worked with Matt Taibbi on the #TwitterFiles and mapping of the Censorship-Industrial Complex, and with Michael Shellenberger to develop the Westminster Declaration.

I am developing NetworkAffects to bring accountability and transparency to the captured ‘anti-disinformation’ and digital rights fields.

Please consider a paid subscription to support my work.

You can contact me at andrew.lowenthal@protonmail.org or @NAffects.

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Digital authoritarianism, digital civil liberties, privacy, and free expression.

People

I am a writer and consultant focused on digital authoritarianism. I manage the Network Affects Substack, write for Racket and Public, and direct the digital civil liberties start-up https://liber-net.org