The future of the internet is... uncertain. We've always been optimistic about what technology and innovation can achieve, and that hasn't changed, but right now it often feels like we're facing more new challenges and more reactions to them (including dangerous ones) than ever, and pessimism about the internet seems to be at an all-time high. This week we're joined by EFF Executive Director Cindy Cohn, who recently wrote an essay (pdf link) about internet pioneer John Perry Barlow and how his famous tech optimism was more complex — and more aware of challenges — than it is often portrayed, to discuss a positive future for the internet, and how we get there.

Cindy Cohn's Essay: https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1341&context=dltr

The Techdirt Podcast

Trying To Be Optimistic About The Internet

The Techdirt Podcast, hosted by Michael Masnick.