Internet

How To Fix the Internet

Each episode explores how to fix laws that entrench privacy-violating practices.

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Do you actually own those songs and books you've downloaded onto your smartphone? Why is the government able to access your online data without your permission? Why is broadband internet so lackluster in parts of the country? And how exactly does that secret federal surveillance court work?

How we deal with the many privacy and access problems associated with online communications and data storage is the focus of How To Fix the Internet, a six-part podcast organized by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Hosted by Cindy Cohn and Danny O'Brien, each episode brings in a guest for a breezy but detailed discussion of a particular internet issue.

The Cato Institute's Julian Sanchez (a Reason contributing editor) joins them to discuss the origins and operations of the secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court—an institution initially designed to protect Americans from unwarranted domestic snooping, but which under post-9/11 governance has evolved into something else. Jumana Masa of the Fourth Amendment Center visits to discuss how and why police are often able to demand your private data from tech companies without your permission and sometimes without your knowledge.

Each episode explores how to fix laws that entrench privacy-violating practices and what to do about big tech companies that take advantage of regulations to suppress competitive upstarts.