O p e n n e s s, o p e n s o c i e t y a n d p r i v a c y
Dharma/Arte
Foto: Matheus Ribeiro
Dharma/Arte is supporting Facebook Protest, so we’re not using Facebook on June 6th.
Why? We love Facebook and its potential for establishing new and meaningful connections, allowing open communication, strengthening innovative projects and feeding new ideas; we know that the immediate effects of this protest on Facebook as a company are irrelevant. However, recent changes in Facebook, broadly advertised by the press, demand in our opinion the attention of its users, individuals or institutions.
For those who have not followed: some weeks ago Facebook implemented a series of changes, guided by its business model and its need for making available users’ information to sponsoring companies, with the risk of compromising its users’ privacy. Later these changes have been partially reverted, but Facebook still defends its right to implement changes because they know what is better for its users, and/or because a more open society depends on a society without the barriers of privacy, establishing problematic ties between the progressive idea of a more open society and corporate interests, in a scenario reminding George Orwell’s 1984.
Users’ mobilization has called the attention of governments in Europe and in US for privacy issues, and of newspapers like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Le Monde, of magazines like Time and TV networks like CNN. So recently Facebook has partially changed its privacy policy. However, Facebook still defends its role in deciding what is better for its users and what is an open society.
Dharma/Arte’s mission is based on the teachings of contemplative traditions ― with an emphasis in Chögyam Trungpa’s teachings on the arts and on the creative processes. These teachings may help us in our search for transformation and creativity, as individuals and as a society. We look forward new ways to perceive the world that help us finding new ways for acting in this world. We value a non-sectarian approach, we cultivate the appreciation of different forms of expression. So we value social media and transparency, and the transformation of how individuals interact.
This doesn’t mean, however, that we understand and agree with Facebook’s statements identifying “open society” and lack of privacy, mainly when this identification is guided by the current business model of a company, to which information about users is its main asset. This clearly brings to our minds other examples of corporative abuses and their “unexpected” consequences, like the financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the oil leak at the Gulf of Mexico. How responsible or irresponsible all of us have been in relation to the signals that there was something wrong with easy consumerism and its advantages?
In fact, we’ve all heard about something called interdependence. We all know that the financial or the oil crisis are not “unexpected” consequences. That’s why we’re expressing what we think on this subject, that’s why Dharma/Arte is supporting Facebook Protest. How to cultivate openness, and use new forms of communication mindfully, challenging the artificial territoriality of dogmas without simply surrendering to the newest corporate cynicism? Your feedback is welcome!
Real-time meditation with Joan Halifax-roshi at Wisdom 2.0 Conference: a reminder for mindfulness and awareness in our technology-rich times.