---
marp: true
theme: gaia
paginate: true
backgroundColor: #fff
header: "Digital Independence Day - Reclaiming Our Digital Autonomy"
footer: "Michał Czechowski"
title: Digital Independence Day - Reclaiming Our Digital Autonomy
---

<style>
section {
  font-size: 1.7rem;
}
h2 {
  color: var(--color-dimmed);
}
</style>

# Digital Independence Day
## Part 1: Reclaiming Our Digital Autonomy

**Michał Czechowski**
University Lecturer & Hacktivist
Stuttgart, Germany

*Science in the City Festival Malta — September 17, 2025*

---

<style scoped>
h1, p {
  text-align: center;
}
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
</style>

# Notes (1/2)

This presentation is licensed under **Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)**

- Allows others to share and adapt your work with proper attribution 
- Requires adaptations to be shared under the same license

For the full license text, visit: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

---

<style scoped>
h1, p {
  text-align: center;
}
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
</style>

# Notes (2/2)

- Feel free to ask questions at any time
- Interruptions and discussions are welcome and encouraged
- This is an interactive session
- Your input and participation are valuable

---

# About Me

**Michał Czechowski**
- University Lecturer at DHBW Stuttgart & LFH Hannover
- Employed at a dictionary publisher (PONS Langenscheidt GmbH)
- 20+ years software engineering experience
- FOSS transformation specialist
- Polish-German background: generational experience with authoritarian control
- Passionate about empowering digital independence through democratic technology

<!-- 
- Great-great-grandfather killed on September 1, 1939 - first day of German invasion of Poland 
- Nazi Germany faced severe financial crisis 1931-1939; failing banks boosted far-right voting 
- Nazis borrowed massive sums for rearmament; faced insolvency just as war started  - war as financial escape
- Family survived dual occupation: German (Sep 1939) then Soviet (Sep 17, 1939) 
- 6 million Polish citizens died 1939-1945; 150,000 under Soviet occupation alone 
- Post-war socialist Poland (1945-1989): 44 years under Soviet sphere of influence 
- Personal experience: surveillance state, censorship, economic repression, martial law (1981-1983)
- PONS Langenscheidt: Europe's largest dictionary publisher, understands information control
- DHBW uses dual education model - bridges academic theory with industry practice
- Witnessed dot-com boom, Web 2.0 transformation, mobile revolution - understands tech's political trajectory
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
</style>

# What is Digital Independence?

---

# Digital Independence
## Democratic Control Over Information Systems

**Digital Autonomy**: The capacity for individuals and societies to make informed, voluntary decisions about their digital tools and data

* **Individual Level**: You control what software runs on your devices
* **Societal Level**: Communities govern their digital infrastructure
* **Democratic Level**: Transparent, accountable technology governance

<!-- 
- Current reality: most people can't even choose their phone's default browser
- Contrast with food sovereignty movement - communities controlling their food systems
- "Informed consent" is impossible with proprietary black-box algorithms
- Democratic tech governance exists: see Taiwan's vTaiwan platform, Barcelona's Decidim
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
</style>

# Why Does Digital Autonomy Matter?

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg left:30%](./assets/floridi.jpg)

# The Fourth Revolution (2014)

**Luciano Floridi's Core Thesis**: We now inhabit a "hyper-historical" world where the distinction between online and offline life has collapsed.

The **infosphere** - our combined digital and physical reality - means:
* Information systems ARE the infrastructure of modern society
* Digital dependencies create systemic vulnerabilities
* Control over information systems equals control over society itself

<!-- 
- Floridi: Oxford professor of philosophy and ethics of information
- Previous revolutions: Copernican, Darwinian, Freudian - all decentered humanity
- Fourth Revolution: we are now informational beings, not just biological
- "Onlife" concept: no meaningful online/offline distinction for digital natives
-->

---

# Critical Infrastructure Dependencies

**When information systems control …**
* **Healthcare**: Electronic records, diagnostic systems, life support
* **Logistics**: Supply chains, transportation networks, food distribution
* **Finance**: Payment systems, banking infrastructure, economic stability
* **Democracy**: Media platforms, electoral systems, public discourse
* **Education**: Learning platforms, research access, knowledge distribution

<!-- 
- 141 US hospitals hit by ransomware in 2023 alone; mortality rate increased from 3% to 4% during attacks 
- Over $1.1 billion paid in healthcare ransomware in 2023 
- SolarWinds hack (2020) compromised 18,000+ organizations through single software update
- 2021 Colonial Pipeline shutdown: 45% of US East Coast fuel supply offline for 6 days
- Estonia 2007: cyber attacks paralyzed entire nation's digital infrastructure for weeks
-->

---

# When Digital Systems Fail, Society Fails

**Recent Systemic Failures:**
* Hospital ransomware attacks → patients die from delayed care
* Social media manipulation → electoral interference, democratic erosion
* Supply chain attacks → economic disruption, infrastructure breakdown
* Platform censorship → suppression of legitimate discourse
* Algorithmic bias → systemic discrimination at scale

<!-- 
- Düsseldorf University Hospital (2020): first confirmed ransomware death - patient died during transfer
- 2016 US election: Facebook admits 126 million users saw Russian disinformation
- NotPetya (2017): $10 billion global damage from single malware strain
- Hunter Biden laptop story suppressed by Twitter before 2020 election
- Amazon's hiring algorithm discriminated against women for a decade before discovery
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
</style>

# Who Opposes Digital Autonomy?

---

# The Opposition Alliance

**Surveillance Capitalism Model:**
* Extract behavioral data at unprecedented scale
* Manipulate user behavior through algorithmic control
* Create dependencies to maintain market dominance

**Authoritarian State Interests:**
* Monitor and control population behavior
* Suppress dissent through platform manipulation
* Weaponize civilian technology infrastructure

<!-- 
- Shoshana Zuboff coined "surveillance capitalism" - economic system based on behavioral data extraction
- GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft) combined market cap: $10+ trillion
- Chinese social credit system monitors 1.4 billion people through integrated digital surveillance
- NSA's PRISM program collected data from major US tech companies 2007-2013
- Pegasus spyware sold to 40+ governments to spy on journalists, activists, politicians
-->

---

# Real-World Effects

* **Cambridge Analytica (2018)**: 87 million Facebook profiles harvested for election manipulation

* **Meta's Teen Depression Experiments (2021)**: Deliberately harmful algorithms tested on adolescents

* **Israel-Lebanon Pager Attack (2024)**: Consumer communication devices remotely weaponized at Hezbollah (Operation Grim Beeper)

* **Palantir Surveillance Infrastructure**: Military-grade population monitoring sold to corporations and governments

* **TikTok Algorithmic Influence**: Foreign state influence over domestic youth culture and political discourse

<!-- 
- Cambridge Analytica worked on 200+ elections worldwide, not just Trump 2016
- Facebook knew Instagram harm to teen girls since 2019, kept algorithms unchanged
- Pager attack killed 12, wounded 2,750 - showed any electronic device can be weaponized
- Palantir co-founded by Peter Thiel, valued at $20 billion, used by ICE for deportations
- TikTok algorithm promotes pro-China content, suppresses Tibet/Hong Kong/Uyghur topics
-->

---

<style scoped>
ul {
  font-size: 1.3rem;
}
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg left:42%](./assets/Larry-Ellison3.jpg)

# Oracle's BlueKai

* **2014**: Oracle aquires a marketing tech start-up **BlueKai** based in Cupertino, California, for around **$400 million**.

* **2016**: Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison bragged about profiling 5 billion people worldwide, creating detailed cohorts from **sensitive web browsing activity, names, home addresses, email addresses, and cross-device tracking data**.

* **$42.4 billion annual revenue** from their BlueKai data brokerage operations, selling personal profiles to advertisers and third parties without consent

* **2024**: Oracle forced to pay $115 million settlement after class action lawsuit led by privacy researchers Michael Katz-Lacabe (USA), Jennifer Golbeck (USA), and Johnny Ryan (Ireland).

<!-- 
- BlueKai tracked users across 1+ million websites without consent
- Detailed profiles included medical conditions, political views, sexual orientation
- Data sold to debt collectors, insurance companies, employers for discrimination
- Settlement represents 0.3% of Oracle's annual revenue - essentially cost of doing business
- Larry Ellison is 10th richest person globally ($114 billion net worth)
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
</style>

# Who's Fighting Back?

---

# Digital Independence Success Stories

* **🇩🇪 Schleswig-Holstein**: Complete state migration to Linux and LibreOffice, ending Microsoft dependency

* **🇫🇷 Lyon**: 17,000 government computers migrated to Ubuntu, saving €2M annually in licensing costs

* **🇪🇸 Extremadura**: 200,000 students educated on Linux-based systems, creating digital literacy without vendor lock-in

* **🇮🇹 South Tyrol**: Government-wide OpenOffice deployment, demonstrating scalable alternatives

* **🇧🇷 Brazil**: Constitutional requirement for open standards in government systems

<!-- 
- Schleswig-Holstein migration affects 30,000 PCs, saves €10M+ annually
- Lyon's migration complete by 2026, includes teacher training programs
- Extremadura (2002-2009): world's largest educational FOSS deployment, inspired global movement
- South Tyrol (German-speaking Italy): bilingual government, chose FOSS for language neutrality
- Brazil Article 23 (2000): mandates open standards for government interoperability
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
</style>

# Who Controls Your Software?
## FOSS vs. "Open Source" vs. Proprietary

---

# Three Types of Software Explained

* **Proprietary Software:**
  - Black box code, vendor control, only licenses
  - Surveillance capabilities built-in

* **"Open Source" (Silicon Valley):**
  - Source visible but corporate-controlled
  - "Open washing" marketing tactics

* **Free & Open Source Software (FOSS):**
  - Community governance, transparent code
  - Privacy by default, no surveillance by design

<!-- 
- Richard Stallman founded FSF (1985) - "Free as in freedom, not free beer"
- Open Source Initiative (1998) dropped political aspects, focused on developer benefits
- "Open core" business model: free basic version, paid enterprise features
- Examples: Redis → Valkey fork when Redis went proprietary (2024)
- Four essential freedoms: use, study, modify, distribute
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
</style>

# How to Gain Digital Autonomy

---

# Your Liberation Toolkit

<style scoped>
table {
  font-size: 1.1rem;
}
</style>

| Category | Proprietary Tool | FOSS Alternative | Implementation Notes |
|----------|------------------|------------------|----------------------|
| **Communication** | WhatsApp | Signal | End-to-end encrypted, normie-friendly |
| | | Element (Matrix) | Decentralized protocol, tech-savvy users |
| | Twitter/X | Mastodon | ActivityPub federation, choose instance wisely |
| | Discord | Element/Matrix | Bridges available for Discord migration |
| **Web Browsing** | Chrome/Chromium | Firefox | Mozilla Foundation, privacy-focused |
| | | LibreWolf | Firefox without telemetry, hardened |
| | | Ladybird | Complete rebuild browser from scratch (summer 2026) |
| | Plugins | uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger etc. | Useful firefox/chromium extension for increased security |
| **Productivity** | Microsoft Office | LibreOffice | Full office suite, document compatibility |
| | Notion | Logseq | Local-first knowledge graphs |
| | Slack | Mattermost | Self-hosted team communication |
| **Video Conferencing** | MS Teams, Zoom | Jitsi Meet | Self-hostable, browser-based meetings |

<!-- 
- Signal funded by WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton ($50M donation)
- Matrix protocol powers 50M+ users, bridges to proprietary networks
- Mastodon has 14M+ users across 20,000+ instances
- LibreWolf removes Mozilla telemetry, adds uBlock Origin by default
- Ladybird browser by SerenityOS creator, funded by GitHub co-founder
- LibreOffice can read/write Microsoft formats better than Google Docs
-->

---

# Your Liberation Toolkit (continued)

<style scoped>
table {
  font-size: 1.1rem;
}
</style>

| Category | Proprietary Tool | FOSS Alternative | Implementation Notes |
|----------|------------------|------------------|----------------------|
| **Cloud & Storage** | Google Drive | Nextcloud | Complete cloud replacement |
| | Google Photos | Immich | Self-hosted photo management |
| | Dropbox | Syncthing | P2P file synchronization |
| **Media** | YouTube | PeerTube | Federated video hosting |
| | | NewPipe | Android app, no Google Services needed |
| **Email** | Gmail | Proton Mail | Swiss privacy laws protection |
| **Mobile OS** | Android (Google) | GrapheneOS | Pixel devices only, maximum security |
| | | LineageOS | Wider device support |
| **Desktop OS** | MS Windows | GNU/Linux | Hundreds of different distributions like Ubuntu, Arch etc. |
| | macOS | Asahi Linux | Apple Silicon Macs, experimental support |

<!-- 
- Nextcloud used by German government, French government, 400M+ users
- Immich offers Google Photos-like features: facial recognition, geolocation, AI tagging
- Syncthing: no central server, encrypted P2P sync across unlimited devices
- PeerTube federation: 600+ instances, ActivityPub compatible
- Proton based in Switzerland: strong privacy laws, outside Five Eyes jurisdiction
- GrapheneOS developed by security researchers, hardens Android kernel
-->

---

![bg right:20%](./assets/binary.png)

# Trade-offs of Using FOSS

**Everything Comes with a Price:**

* **Binary Limitations**: Proprietary formats like .docx not easily editable or human-readable in simple text editors
* **Self-Responsibility**: No one to blame except yourself when things go sideways
* **Accessibility Over Polish**: "Not so smooth" interfaces, therefore highly accessible  
* **Modular Solutions**: Rarely "All-in-One"-Solutions, mostly a potpourri of multiple solutions to meet your needs
* **Social Isolation**: Missing info/discrimination when avoiding mainstream platforms like WhatsApp/Instagram

<!-- 
- .docx files are actually ZIP archives containing XML - can be opened with any text editor
- FOSS support comes from communities, not corporate helpdesks - requires technical literacy
- FOSS prioritizes functionality over visual design - often more accessible to disabled users
- Unix philosophy: "Do one thing well" vs. proprietary "everything apps"
- Network effects: harder to organize events, social groups when everyone else uses WhatsApp
-->

---

# Your Roadmap to (Digital) Independence

* **1. Kyū (yellow belt 🟡):**
  - Communication tools
  - Web Browser & Search
  - Office suite 

* **2. Kyū (orange belt 🟠):**
  - Operating system
  - FOSS App Stores
  - Publishing Systems

* **3. Kyū (green belt 🟢):**
  - Cloud storage & Self-hosting

<!-- 
- Kyū (級) means "grade/rank" in Japanese martial arts - indicates progressive mastery
- Yellow belt: software you use daily, lowest friction changes
- Orange belt: deeper system changes, requires some technical comfort
- Green belt: infrastructure independence, highest technical requirements
- Each level builds on previous - don't skip ahead
-->

---

# Workshop Guide

* **Today's Focus:**
  - Install FOSS onto your private device (PC/Smartphone)
  - GNU/Linux (Operating System) hands-on exploration
  - First terminal commands (optional)

* **Take Home:**
  - Curated software recommendations
  - Community connection for ongoing support
  - Courage to break out from learned helplessness

<!-- 
- Live USB drives prepared for multiple Linux distributions
- Terminal commands: pwd, ls, cd, cat - basic file system navigation
- OSS Malta community provides ongoing local support network
- "Learned helplessness" reference to Martin Seligman's psychology research
- Each participant gets follow-up resources and migration timeline
-->

---

# Conclusions

## Digital Independence is Democratic Necessity

In Floridi's infosphere, our digital choices are political choices.

* **Today's Workshop**: Hands-on GNU/Linux exploration
* **Your Mission**: Begin your liberation journey
* **Our Goal**: Build digitally sovereign communities

---

<style scoped>
ul {
  font-size: 1.2rem;
}
</style>

# References (1/3)

**Core Theory:**
- Floridi, L. (2014). *The Fourth Revolution: How the infosphere is reshaping human reality*. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780199606726

**Digital Attacks & Surveillance:**
- Cadwalladr, C. & Graham-Harrison, E. (2018, March 17). Revealed: 50 million Facebook profiles harvested for Cambridge Analytica in major data breach. *The Guardian*. https://www.theguardian.com/news/2018/mar/17/cambridge-analytica-facebook-influence-us-election

- Wells, G., Horwitz, J., & Seetharaman, D. (2021, September 14). Facebook knows Instagram is toxic for teen girls, company documents show. *The Wall Street Journal*. https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-knows-instagram-is-toxic-for-teen-girls-company-documents-show-11631620739

- Frenkel, S., Bergman, R. & Saad, H. (2024, September 18). How Israel Built a Modern-Day Trojan Horse: Exploding Pagers. *The New York Times*. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/18/world/middleeast/israel-exploding-pagers-hezbollah.html

---

<style scoped>
ul {
  font-size: 1.2rem;
}
</style>

# References (2/3) 

**Government FOSS Success Stories:**
- The Document Foundation (2024, April 4). German state moving 30,000 PCs to LibreOffice. https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2024/04/04/german-state-moving-30000-pcs-to-libreoffice/

- Gascó, M. (2003). New technologies and institutional change in public administration. *Social Science Computer Review*, 21(1), 6-14. [Extremadura case study]

- Camara, G. & Fonseca, F. (2007). Information policies and open source software in developing countries. *Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology*, 58(1), 121-132. [Brazil open standards]

- OECD (2022), Open Government Review of Brazil: Towards an Integrated Open Government Agenda, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/3f9009d4-en.

**Digital Democracy Platforms:**
- Aragón, P., et al. (2017). Deliberative Platform Design: The Case Study of the Online Discussions in Decidim Barcelona. *Social Science Computer Review*, 39(6), 1139-1162. https://decidim.barcelona/

- vTaiwan Project Documentation. (2023). Digital Minister of Taiwan. https://vtaiwan.tw/

---

<style scoped>
ul {
  font-size: 1.2rem;
}
</style>

# References (3/3)

**Infrastructure & Surveillance Systems:**
- Kotka, T., Vargas, C.A. & Korjus, K. (2015). Estonia's blockchain-based e-Residency program. *Computer*, 48(9), 106-108. [X-Road infrastructure]

- Greenwald, G. (2014). *No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State*. Metropolitan Books. [PRISM program]

- Liang, F., et al. (2018). Constructing a data‐driven society: China's social credit system as a state surveillance infrastructure. *Policy & Internet*, 10(4), 415-453.

---

# Questions & Discussion

**Additional Resources:**
- Open Source Alternative Directory: https://www.opensourcealternative.to/
- OSS Malta Community: https://ossmalta.eu/
- Presentation Materials: https://dailysh.it/malta
- Contact: malta@dailysh.it

---

<!-- header: "" -->
<!-- title: Digital Independence Day - Workshop -->

# Digital Independence Day - Workshop
## Part 2: Hands-On Exploration

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
h2 {
  text-align: center;
  color: #b8860b;
  font-size: 0.8em;
}
</style>

# 1. Kyū

## yellow belt 🟡

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/ublock.png)

<!-- 
- uBlock Origin blocks ads, trackers, malware across 400M+ devices
- Chrome Web Store removed it due to Manifest V3 - forcing users to Firefox
- Saves 40% bandwidth, 60% faster page loads, extends battery life
-->

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/librewolf.png)

<!-- 
- LibreWolf removes Mozilla telemetry, adds privacy hardening by default
- Based on Firefox ESR (Extended Support Release) - more stable than regular Firefox
- Pre-configured with uBlock Origin, strict privacy settings, no pocket integration
-->

---
<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/libreoffice.png)

<!-- 
- LibreOffice handles Microsoft formats better than Google Docs/Office 365
- Document Foundation supported by German government, French government
- Writer, Calc, Impress equivalent to Word, Excel, PowerPoint
- Saves files in OpenDocument Format (ODF) - ISO standard since 2006
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
h2 {
  text-align: center;
  color: #ff8c00;
  font-size: 0.8em;
}
</style>

# 2. Kyū

## orange belt 🟠

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/screenshot-orange-1.png)

<!-- 
- F-Droid: repository of 4,000+ FOSS Android apps
- All apps built from source code, verified no tracking/ads
- Guardian Project apps: secure communications for activists, journalists
- Alternative to Google Play Store - no Google account required
-->

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/screenshot-orange-2.png)

<!-- 
- Shows installation process for alternative Android app store
- Requires enabling "Unknown Sources" - Android security feature override
- First step toward breaking Google Play Store dependency
-->

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/screenshot-orange-3.png)

<!-- 
- Demonstrates FOSS app ecosystem on mobile devices
- NewPipe: YouTube without ads, background play, downloads
- Signal: encrypted messaging, voice calls, disappearing messages
- OsmAnd: offline maps based on OpenStreetMap data
-->

---

<style scoped>
section {
  display: flex;
  flex-direction: column;
  justify-content: center;
  align-items: center;
  height: 100%;
}
h1 {
  text-align: center;
}
h2 {
  text-align: center;
  color: #006400;
  font-size: 0.8em;
}
</style>

# 3. Kyū

## green belt 🟢

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/screenshot-green-1.png)

<!-- 
- Self-hosted cloud infrastructure - complete independence from Big Tech
- Nextcloud provides file sync, calendar, contacts, collaborative editing
- Can be installed on home server, VPS, or shared hosting
- European providers offer Nextcloud hosting under GDPR protection
-->

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/screenshot-green-2.png)

<!-- 
- Demonstrates file management interface similar to Google Drive/Dropbox
- End-to-end encryption available for sensitive documents
- Integrates with LibreOffice for collaborative document editing
- Mobile apps available for seamless synchronization
-->

---

<style scoped>
figure {
  background-position: top !important;
}
</style>

![bg](./assets/screenshot-green-3.png)

<!-- 
- Shows advanced features: calendar sharing, task management, video calls
- Replaces Google Workspace/Microsoft 365 functionality
- Plugin ecosystem: mail client, password manager, bookmarks sync
- Can federate with other Nextcloud instances for inter-organizational collaboration
-->