Technology
Technological development is politics by other means. From American companies moving to buy TikTok to governments advocating digital sovereignty and self-reliance, we seem to be entering a new era of techno-nationalism, where it's increasingly difficult to separate the politics, the economics, and the tech. And, extremist groups like the Boogaloo move from online forums to real world protests. Is the internet is fueling right wing extremism, and how do we de-escalate that extremism? + Throughout 2020, online extremist movements like QAnon and the Boogaloo Bois have gone from fringe internet groups and jokey memes to appearing at protests and crossing over into more traditional political groups. How has the internet fueled the growth of these movements? And can online tools also serve to de-escalate and de-radicalize? Vivek Venkatesh, UNESCO co-Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, professor at Concordia University, explains. + The Trump administration has said Chinese video sharing service TikTok needs to sell off its US operations or face a ban, citing concerns about user privacy and national security. For its part, this week China issued a sweeping proposal for data sovereignty. David Murakami Wood, researcher in the Surveillance Studies Centre at Queens University, weighs in on the technological future of politics. + From TikTok to Facebook, many are worrying about the intersection of technology and politics. But is the intertwining of politics and tech new? Media historian Dwayne Winseck explains how they've been pretty much joined at the hip since the Roman Empire.