Opinion – Ronaldo Lemos: Music Genres, Privacy and Telegram Blocking

2022 has barely begun and it feels like we live a whole year in January. On the musical front —​which is always a thermometer of changes that later spread throughout society—, there is a lot to pay attention to.

In an article last week, Kieran Press-Reynolds raised the discussion about how music genres are multiplying and becoming microgenres. Instead of terms like “rock”, “pop”, “soul”, there are styles that are now called “hyperplugg”, “robloxcore”, “sigilkore”, “murder metal 2k13” and so on. They describe scenes originated directly on the internet, all with the intention of creating their own aesthetics.

I’ve already mentioned the website Everynoise.com, which works as a map of all existing genres. Reynolds notes that these microgenres haven’t even made it into Everynoise, they’re still under the radar.

What matters as a reflection is how these micro-niches can quickly become mass phenomena and even a political weapon. Just remember how the scene called vaporwave was appropriated by extremist currents. We live in a world where change can be right next door, tiny, invisible, and suddenly disrupt the entire social fabric.

Furthermore, this fragmentation actually represents the end of the idea of ​​gender. We live in a “post-classifications” world, where everything is flux (some of the repercussions of these changes are described in text in the Illustrious One on the Great Disruption).

Another theme of the week was the attempt to use the General Data Protection Law (LGPD), which protects data privacy in Brazil, as a shield against vaccines and vaccine certificates. The —simple—argument is that showing the vaccine certificate would violate the right to privacy. Unfortunately, this misrepresentation of GDPR has become increasingly common.

There are those who want to use the law also to prevent access to public government data. Does not make sense. The LGPD must be applied in harmony with principles such as the right to health and public transparency.

Another controversial topic concerns the Telegram messaging app. The app has 50 million users in Brazil and has been criticized for not acting against the so-called Adversarial Misinformation, Influence Tactics and Techniques (Datti).

In other words, it was to Telegram that most of the massive and hidden disinformation campaigns that today have difficulty propagating on other networks ran. One of the reasons is that Telegram has no headquarters or representation in Brazil and has been completely ignoring attempts to contact the Superior Electoral Court.

What to do? First, apply “follow the money” and go after those who fund hidden disinformation campaigns. In the alternative, remember that Marco Civil establishes that Brazilian law applies to companies that carry out activities in the national territory, even if they do not have headquarters in the country.

This opens up the possibility of more drastic measures, such as blocking access to Telegram in the country. If this happens, it must respect the principle of necessity and proportionality. The decision must be legitimately requested and implemented only by a higher court, informed by multisectoral contributions that should begin immediately.

Hard times.

Reader

It’s over Simple genres like rock and pop

Already Moods (sort music by “feeling”)

It’s coming Multiplication and fragmentation of ways to classify content