http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/367-wikileaks/8626-julian-assange-internet-has-become-surveillance-machine
The Internet itself had become 'the most significant surveillance machine that we have ever seen,' Assange said in reference to the amount of information people give about themselves online. (photo: Andrew Winning/Reuters) 
ikiLeaks founder Julian Assange blasted the mainstream media, Washington, banks and the Internet itself as he addressed journalists in Hong Kong on Monday via videolink from house arrest in England.
Internet itself had become 'the most significant surveillance machine that we have ever seen,' Assange said in reference to the amount of information people give about themselves online. 'It's not an age of transparency at all ... the amount of secret information is more than ever before,' he said, adding that information flows in but is not flowing out of governments and other powerful organizations."
The Internet itself had become 'the most significant surveillance machine that we have ever seen,' Assange said in reference to the amount of information people give about themselves online. (photo: Andrew Winning/Reuters)
Julian Assange: Internet Has Become 'Surveillance Machine'
28 November 11
ikiLeaks founder Julian Assange blasted the mainstream media, Washington, banks and the Internet itself as he addressed journalists in Hong Kong on Monday via videolink from house arrest in England.Fresh from accepting a top award for journalism from the prestigious Walkley Foundation in his native Australia on Sunday, Assange spoke to the News World Summit in Hong Kong before keeping a regular appointment with the police.
He defended his right to call himself a journalist and said WikiLeaks' next "battle" would be to ensure that the Internet does not turn into a vast surveillance tool for governments and corporations.
"Of course I'm a goddamn journalist," he responded with affected frustration when a moderator of the conference asked if he was a member of the profession.
He said his written record spoke for itself and argued that the only reason people kept asking him if he was a journalist was because the United States' government wanted to silence him.
"The United States government does not want legal protection for us," he said, referring to a US Justice Department investigation into his whistle-blower website for releasing secret diplomatic and military documents.
The former hacker criticised journalists and the mainstream media for becoming too cosy with the powerful and secretive organisations they were supposed to be holding to account.
In a 40-minute address, he also accused credit card companies such as Visa and Mastercard of illegally cutting WikiLeaks off from funding under a secret deal with the White House.
"Issues that should be decided in open court are being decided in back rooms in Washington," he said.
The Internet itself had become "the most significant surveillance machine that we have ever seen," Assange said in reference to the amount of information people give about themselves online.
"It's not an age of transparency at all ... the amount of secret information is more than ever before," he said, adding that information flows in but is not flowing out of governments and other powerful organisations.
"I see that really is our big battle. The technology gives and the technology takes away," he added.
The anti-secrecy activist then help up a handwritten sign from an aide telling him to "stop" talking or he would be late for a mandatory appointment with police.
Assange, 40, is under house arrest in England pending the outcome of a Swedish extradition request over claims of rape and sexual assault made by two women. He says he is the victim of a smear campaign.
Comments
Is Assange a journalist? Well, I have been one for 45 years, and he sure looks like a brother to me! Furthermore, I approve, love and cherish what he has done to discomfort the wide world of tyrants in their evil hidey-holes of secrecy, deceit and privilege. I only wonder how he has been let live this
long. Same goes for others set on exposing the slime that would enslave us all.
As far as Assaange whistle blower web site - There are laws in USA government that prevents whistle blowing on USA government - which is ironic, isn't it?
There is corruption in D.C. in all branches of government and unlike in private business where whistle blowers often save many lives (etc) and often get protection - the USA government repelling whistle blowing on themselves is simple WRONG.
Look what we've learned from Assange: Secret meeting to make "law." A Congress with less approval rating that Castro. The Supremes passing law instead if ruling the constitutionali ty of laws as dictated by the USA Constitution. Their 2010 "person hood" decision was from a motion filed by the Koch Brothers. Jeeze I can hardly wait for the 5-4 ruling by the Supremes on the health care thing.
Private Manning (not charged yet) is coming to trial soon. Will it be behind closed doors?
GOP: the definition of DEBT is money spent: 2 wars + fraud in the "entitlement" programs + bridges to nowhere.
Register early + mail-in ballots. 2012: Vote Dem Vote Obama.
Don't vote "Democratic". Don't vote for the murderer Obummer, who has killed people and tortured people (Bradley Manning, for example) just on his presidential say so. He has defiled the constitution, while arrogating for himself the "right" to file bills of attainder and enact extrajudicial killings. Not to mention the mass murder he continues to perpetrate in Afghanistan and Iraq. Vote against the one party system. Stand up against the crime and criminals parasitizing our government and society.
Obama is just making a CYA maneuver, since so much could yet be revealed.
It's all so sordid, it just makes you want to puke.
However, my gut says that the charges against him are trumped up. As in I don't believe it's a coincidence that these charges came up when they did. If it's proven that the women were lying/being hyperbolic, it manifestly sets women's progress in this area way back. Sexual predation/abuse of any kind is a very serious charge and women lying about such things makes it that much harder for the next woman who really did suffer abuse.
What he says about the internet is true. I'm not on social media like FB or twitter. But just by dint of sending emails and ordering products online, your habits can be tracked by entitites
such as governments and corporations. That's offputting enough.
And don't you just love how our own citizen, Bradley Manning, has been treated when he's not even had a trial yet?
This is so Rovian; muddy the real issues with a smear tactic. Meanwhile, our rights are falling like a bad soufflee.