Today sees the launch of ORGZine, a “space to debate digital rights issues and related areas” brought to you by the amazing people at the Open Rights Group.
I hope ORGZine thrives as a space for open debate, a space which brings together activists but also reaches out to the general public to raise awareness of digital rights issues.
I’ve quoted this once before here and I’ll do it again:
“It’s not just about abortion, it’s about the next 20 years. Twenties and thirties it was the role of government, fifties and sixties it was civil rights. The next two decades it’s gonna be privacy. I’m talking about the Internet. I’m talking about cell phones. I’m talking about health records and who’s gay and who’s not. And moreover, in a country born on the will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?”
Sam Seaborn says this in the first-season West Wing episode “The Shortlist”. Aaron Sorkin, the creator of the show, understood this back in 1999 – it is time the rest of us dragged our culture and our politics into the 21st century too. Digital rights are the defining political issue of our time.
So I’d encourage you to make your way over to ORGZine now, have a read, and add it to your RSS feed. (And yes, you might spot the occasional article by yours truly over there too.)