Why Wikileaks Should be a P2P Network (and Not a Site)

We’ve all heard about Wikileaks over the past few weeks and we’ve all been introduced to the owner of the site, Julian Assange.  We’re starting to hear details about his arrest, apparently for sex crimes (and by the time ‘they’ are done with him, we’ll all be believing that he had sex with pigs, too).

Unlike some people in this country and elsewhere who are calling for the ‘fatwa’ against Julian Assange (and why these people aren’t being fired, punished or reprimanded is beyond me), I believe that the intent of Wikileaks is more noble than vile.

The intent is to liberate information and to create a serious and adult conversation about diplomacy, foreign affairs and issues – yes – of national security.

That said, the concept should be taken to a new level.  WikiLeaks should become a tour-de-force in the P2P environment.

As mentioned, many people are suggesting that Julian Assange seems to be the only person on the planet who is capable of launching a web site that allows others to post and share confidential or unique information and he should be punished for being an ‘enabler’ of such breaches of security.

The reality is that Julian Assange is a nobody and unfortunately, he’s become a blackmailer.  Regardless, he’s taking the blows for the greater public and we should all step in to support the idea and not Assange, assuming of course, that we believe in information as a commodity that shouldn’t be locked in a vault somewhere.

The other issue that’s starting to rear it’s ugly head is the reminder that the Internet does not belong to ‘the people’.  It belongs to a small collection of elites that want to massage what we collectively do on a day to day basis.  They are not pleased with the release of documents that show that the world is dominated by an array of corporate cartels, including bankers, oil companies and other resource magnates.

Internet companies are starting to cut off the access to Wikileaks and most payment processing companies have ended the ability for people to make Internet donations to the organization.  As such, we should all consider boycotting Paypal and Mastercard for their cartel-like actions, but that’s a whole other story!

Within a few days, it’s very likely that Wikileaks will likely be no longer and the ‘threat’ of revealed information (and embarrassment) will be over.

However, if the information were shared across the entire Internet like a P2P file-sharing network, who starts or runs the network is no longer relevant.  What’s relevant is that the information is liberated, everyone around the world owns a chunk of the information and no one needs any money to keep it going because we’re all paying for it via our ISP subscriptions.

Of course, other information and sharing sites of this nature should also be converted to a P2P structure, where fragments of information are scattered across the digital universe, making it impossible for those that want hide their contempt towards society at large.