Norbert Bollow via nettime-l on Tue, 27 Jan 2026 20:22:00 +0100 (CET)


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Re: <nettime> Francine Prose: America feels like a country on the brink of an authoritarian takeover (TG)


On Tue, 27 Jan 2026 17:02:44 +0000
Geoffrey Goodell <goodell@oxonia.net> wrote:

> I have some simple suggestions for legislation in service of this
> limited objective

[snipped four good points on allowing to use cash and otherwise avoid
electronic tracking]

I’d add:

(5) forbid operators of car parks and the like from routinely using OCR
to read license plate numbers, or recording license plate numbers by
other means, or requiring payment for parking to be made in a cash-less
manner.

> It might strike some of you as odd that it would be necessary to
> legislate to protect these rights, but mechanisms like these shape
> the power relationships of the current age.

Actually I believe that at least in the EU and here in Switzerland,
logically, all of these points are already consequences of existing
data protection legislation.

Maybe in regard to these points, all that is needed in these
jurisdictions is strategic litigation?

(Personally, I’m currently more interested in working on justice
and equity issues related to AI and other data processing
infrastructures that are used for legitimate purposes in legitimate
business contexts. But I’m in very strong agreement with Geoffrey in
regard to the importance of the fight against illegitimate tracking of
people.)

Greetings,
Norbert

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