Episode 108: Beatriz Busaniche on Digital Rights and Surveillance in Argentina

Subscribe at 1984today.substack.com for updates, transcripts, and more!All eyes on Argentina in this episode, as I’m joined by Beatriz Busaniche, an Argentinian activist and academic focused on free culture and human rights in the digital environment.Beatriz is the co-founder of the Argentine chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation, a member of Creative Commons Argentina, and the President of the Fundación Vía Libre. She is also a Professor of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, and her books include Artificial Monopolies Over Intangible Assets, and Intellectual Property and Human Rights.We discuss the Milei administration and its impact on freedom of assembly, Beatriz’s leading of the fight against electronic voting in Argentina, the implementation of a sweeping surveillance network in the capital of Buenos Aires, and the danger that the database state poses to civil liberties and personal freedom. We even found some time to talk about copyright and intellectual property in the AI age.Beatriz was the perfect person to walk me through the situation in Argentina right now, and we had a very enjoyable conversation which I hope you find interesting.I also recommend reading a Wired article called The Twisted Eye in the Sky Over Buenos Aires, which goes into more detail on the surveillance system in Buenos Aires and its flaws. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit 1984today.substack.com