THE Association of Caribbean Media Workers’ (ACM’s) statement for World Press Freedom Day 2022, says the theme ‘Journalism Under Digital Siege’ is important because the environment within which journalists in the Caribbean operate “is becoming increasingly perilous” as “many countries have already enacted legislation to intercept communication and counter what they regard as cybercrime”.

It also says that “In a number of Caribbean countries, State entities have been accused of acquiring spyware that can access digital communication and undermine privacy and other rights.”

The ACM therefore “urges Caribbean governments and their domestic allied institutions” to “take all necessary steps to ensure that journalists are not targetted with the intention of revealing the identity of confidential sources.”

With most media and journalists having an online presence, the regional media entity adds, media enterprises are guarding against certain vulnerabilities, including “exposure to hackers whose sole objective is to destroy channels that offend the public or private status quo and so inhibit the free flow of the truth to the wider public”.

“Equally,” the ACM advises journalists and media houses “to put in place the required measures to prevent, detect and block intrusions to their privacy and ultimately their software and hardware infrastructure”.

I get the point, but I think my colleagues are ‘spinning top in mud’ on this one — even ‘spitting in the sky’ — for the simple reason that when governments consider national security issues, vulnerability of journalists’ devices to external intrusion is hardly a consideration.

Fact is, no one today using cell phones, computers, tablets and other such devices can be guaranteed by anyone that their devices won’t be hacked.

I have no reason to oppose any Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member-state that acquires the means to fight cyber-crime, or to fear such equipment can one day be used to hack journalists’ devices.

Governments have no control over the honesty of users of such equipment, just as the US Supreme Court has no way of preventing anyone from within its hallowed chambers from leaking documents.

Likewise, it makes no sense asking governments not to pass laws because of fears they can eventually be abused.

Back in 1996, many Caribbean parents feared the arrival of the Internet would expose children to pornography and its use should therefore be subject to parental monitoring and control.

Today, however, parents and grandparents depend on these same children to help them navigate the intricate technology embedded in new cell phones.

The world has long learned the hard way that hackers have no conscience and any number in one country can shut-down any number of important facilities in any other country, from killing electricity across states in winter to freezing hospital records.

Indeed, governments hack other governments’ systems and intelligence agencies hack and/or tap phones of leaders of friendly countries — and enemies abroad.

Electronic eavesdropping is so pervasively prevalent today that I always get reasons, from time to time, to feel like my phones are hacked.

I’ve read that some high-end digital television screens these days come with an embedded camera that comes on every time the TV is turned on, which feeds back to the manufacturers — as required by law, to enable intelligence agencies to access such information, if necessary, in the name or interest of national security.

While China is the favourite pin cushion for critics of mass surveillance, the volume of CCTV cameras in the UK, across Europe and the USA is no less per head of population; and use of face-recognition technology is more widespread everywhere than ever, as manufacturers continue to enhance the effectiveness of interception devices to attract interest of competing intelligence agencies.

In my view, instead of seeking insurance against being hacked, it would be better for Caribbean journalists to take a page from those colleagues elsewhere who have come together to use the technology to enhance investigative and research capabilities.

Julian Assange and Edward Snowden, The Intercept and the various consortia of investigative journalists that produced the likes of the Panama Papers have all shown how advanced Information Technology and Social Media platforms can also be used positively to gather and circulate information people need to know.

The journalists involved risk their lives for the story because they’re convinced that reporting is more than just about who said what and journalism isn’t only about being able to write well.

I have four sons and a grand-daughter who belong to the generation of Caribbean youth born with microchips in their brains and they don’t take kindly to always being loudly summoned to my rescue every time I finger a wrong button on my keyboard, but they do solve whatever was the problem in quick time, every time – and make it look so easy…

The best example I can offer of just how interconnected we’ve become with the digital world is to silently observe the young men at home or next door playing the online war game ‘Call of Duty’ — and you’ll understand why Bill Gates paid US $70 Billion for it; and why Elon Musk is paying US $43 Billion for Twitter.

For all these reasons and more, I do not think it’s fair for journalists (in the Caribbean or elsewhere) to expect governments to give us a lifelong guarantee or insurance policy that our phones will never be hacked by persons using government spyware, if only because state hackers are invisible by nature.

I actually believe that with everything we write, post and dump online today ending-up on a ‘cloud’ somewhere, one day (in our lifetime), some SMART Alex or Alexa will find a way to retrieve every single thing we ever wrote — from the age of Blackberry texting to WhatsApp and Telegram messaging and offer to us – initially at a cost, but eventually free, in the name of everyone’s Right of Access to information about everyone else.

Yes, I do believe.