How did we get here? How do we turn this around?
It hasn't always been like this.
The first organized left involvement in the Internet happens via the Institute for Global Communication (IGC). IGC spawns peacenet, econet and other forums. IGC helps launch the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) with six other organizations around the world.
APC builds a global, left-wing Internet.
The Association for Progressive Communications builds a global, left-wing Internet.
The Zapatistas declare war on the Mexican Government, launching a global revolutionary movement opposed to neo-liberalism and demonstrating the ability for the left to use the Internet to inspire a mass movement.
The Zapatistas inspire the world via the Internet.
Facing a corporate media blackout before the Battle in Seattle, movement technologists launch the Indymedia Center, providing a web site where anyone could post articles, pictures and video about global justice protests. Developed with the global justice movement, Indymedia centers rapidly spread to hundreds of cities around the world.
Battle in Seattle shuts down the IMF and launches the Indymedia network.
The global justice movement is crushed post 911. Without a movement to anchor it, the Indymedia network begin to decline, while corporate efforts that copied the innovative easy-to-publish workflow proliferate, eventually to be dominated by Twitter and Facebook.
The global justice movement fades, leading to the decline of Indymedia Network.
The first black president in US history, Barack Obama, is elected. Despite right leaning policies (include record levels of immigrant deportations), he inspires trust and confidence in the left. The left begins a massive migration to and dependency on corporate services such as Twitter, Facebook and Google.
Obama's election builds hope, while the left moves to corporate tech.
Between 2010 and 2016, massive global protests erupt, including Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street, Dreamers, Standing Rock, and Black Lives Matter. These movements' largely successful use of corporate platforms, particularly Twitter and Facebook, cement the left's dependence on proprietary Internet services. Corporate Tech seems to be on our side.
Massive global protests cement dependence on corporate social media.
Donald Trump's first election dramatically changes the movement's relationship to electoral politics and begins a major change in our relationship to the Internet and Big Tech.
After Trump's election, the movement's corporate tech romance fades.
Mijente launches a campaign illustrating the connections between Amazon and other platforms and the technology that powers ICE, facial recognition software, and other repressive carceral practices.
Mijente launches No Tech For ICE.
Whistle blower Francis Haugen produces internal documents revealing Facebook's egregious disregard for the violent, right-wing campaigns that their platform supports in their quest for profit.
Facebook whistle blowers reveal egregious disregard for violent right-wing content.
Large Language Models (aka "Artificial Intelligence") bursts on the scene, requiring vastly more electricity than the already massive consumption by Big Tech data centers. The following year (2024) Microsoft makes a bid to purchase Three Mile Island as local campaigns to oppose new data centers gain traction.
Large Language Models consume massive amounts of electricity.
During the escalation of Israeli genocide against Palestinians during the Gaza war, Time magazine announces that Google is increasing their support of the Israeli military, as part of its expanding role as a global defense contractor.
Google increases support of Israeli military during genocidal war against Gaza.
Two years after being purchased by Elon Musk, the Atlantic declares X a white supremacist site.
As Google, Microsoft and others harness their massive trove of our data to build Artificial Intelligence systems, police forces around the country are among the biggest buyers.
Articial Intelligence drives big tech sales to the police and military.
Virtually every major movement organization is entirely dependent on Google, Microsoft or both without an off ramp.
What is our plan?
Research
- Understand how we are using corporate tech, individually and as a sector
- Document alternatives to big tech and their strengths and weaknesses
- Incorporate big tech into our political education
- Plan for a careful and smooth transition
Invest
- Rebuild internal staff tech capacity within movement organizations and coalitions
- Build capacity of intermediaries
- Fund expansion of movement hosting providers
Organize
- Integrate the transition away from corporate tech into strategic planning
- Document and present experiences
- Collaborate to build shared movement technologies that are more resilient
Securing our future
This is a long term project that will secure our future and lead us on a path to systemic change!