Cory Doctorow Reveals the Slimy Side of Facebook

Here's an interesting talk by author & technologist Corey Doctorow:



He raises a number of good points but he goes too far when he calls for turning kids into master sleuths and privacy experts. That's like telling parents in 1920 that the only way to make automobiles safe is if you teach your children to be master mechanics. I don't think it will work.

Instead of expecting everyone to garner skills, it is simpler if you lay down government restrictions on car manufacturers and require road/traffic engineers to design a safer transport system. Doctorow isn't against this, but his personal prejudice is to require individuals to enhance personal skills sets to individually deal with the dangers in the world. Doctorow's approach won't work because most people are too busy, have other priorities, and just want to use the damn computer to get something done or have some fun. They are not interested in becoming technology experts.