Thursday, October 31, 2019

So What is "Democracy Live"?

A budget position was staked out in the Bundestag yesterday....115 million Euro was positioned (yearly) , from 2020 to 2023....for something called 'Democracy Live". 

What is 'Democracy Live'?

Well....it's a Seattle-based private organization that is pushing a cloud-based ballot agenda, with technology firmly part of all all elections.  They appear to be offering their technology and advice....worldwide.  Curiously, most of their efforts so far, have been aimed at the US.

Their intention, if you read the material on their site, is to create an information flow on 'facts', parties, and candidates....so that the voter can make a wise decision. 

The fact that political parties already funnel such information out (similar case as politicians themselves)?  It would appear that Democracy Live wants to give you the image that they can be neutral and offer only 'true facts'....validating the promises themselves.

As for the idea of cloud-based ballots?  Why?  This would require an awful lot of security, and the trust-level of the public would continually be put to a stress test. 

Who are primarily signing up for the services?  Metropolitan and urbanized counties in the US.

So you come back to asking....why did Germany agree to fund them with 115 million Euro a year?  Why not task some German technology group.....supporting them with the money?  That would seem to be the more logical step. 

Then you have that funny German tendency that should have occurred.....where is your personal and private data, and is it 'SAFE' (I emphasize that because German politicians continually harp on that one single characteristic)?  A normal German political figure would have looked at cloud-based 'chatter' and put his hand up to stop the talk right there. 

It's a bit odd. 

No comments: