Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society

How can we comprehend and restrain the negative impact of the internet on politics, the economy, the environment and humanity? Reset is a fast-paced, compelling expose and a rallying call for clear change. Drawing on the cutting-edge research of Citizen Lab, the world-renowned digital security research group he founded, Ronald J. Deibert exposes the influence of the communications ecosystem on society. He tracks a mostly unregulated surveillance industry, innovations in technologies of remote control, superpower policing practices, dark PR firms and highly profitable hack-for-hire services feeding off rivers of poorly secured personal data. He also unearths how dependence on social media and its expanding universe of consumer electronics creates immense pressure on the natural environment. Determined to find solutions, Deibert has written a unique, readable and forward-looking book. In order to combat authoritarian practices, environmental degradation and rampant electronic consumerism, Deibert argues for a set of very specific restraints on tech platforms and governments to reclaim the internet for civil society. It’s time for us to push RESET.