I am fairly certain the internet as we know it, or have known it, is dead.
The world seems to be moving toward ending encryption. The use of VPNs is going to become probable cause. It also seems geo-blocking is now theft whether you're paying for a service.
Companies like Netflix are very aggressive in geo-blocking, to the point their business model is taking a hit. I think Netflix is in the know and has some idea of what the new internet/laws will look like and what will be ciminal or not.
Add to this how Kickass Torrents was seized ( Apple gave the FBI the name of Kat's owner after he bought a song ), and I figure sources like facebook and google are going to report any IP changes, or links across a range of IPs, to the LEOs in addition to spying on bank accounts, emails and the like. There is already some evidence of facebook snooping your browser tabs when you have the website open and do other things.
None of this even brings in the UN which will probably pass blamphemy laws and do away with freedom of speech, insisting their laws supplant the laws of member nations.
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un1ty ago
Doesn't mean encryption will end, but it will have to change - i.e. devices that are proprietary data (encrypted)
Maybe in draconian countries, but still not world wide. There is nothing that can stop a VPN.
This may also help their bottom line in the long run as it can force content owners to open their legalese to include a wider audience. This isn't 100% Netflix, this is likely a result of shitty content owners (like HBO not allowing a show on Netflix to play in the USA but allowing it in the UK because it plays in the USA and they'd rather get the income than allow Netflix to get it).
Dude/dudette, where the fuck have you been?! FB already got lots of heat because they were using persistent cookies to track users across the web, as well as across tabs (which, arguably, are the same). I don't remember if there was a lawsuit or anything, but I know it was publicized. If you like privacy, ditch your Apple product and leave FB alone!
The UN is a governing body for those that signed into it, and even then most of the laws they pass are unenforceable in places like the USA - mostly because our Constitution disallows entering into agreements that directly contradict it, like UN/EU gun control for example.
The internet is far from dead. Controlled and monitored? Absolutely. But not dead.