Moving governmental functions onto a collective website could result in security threats and unproductive discourse. Instead of making the government more accessible and streamlined, moving the government online could mean moving it into the Stone Age.
With the launch of the Obamacare website, people are expecting the U.S. government to fall in line with the times and start using the internet as a more efficient means of addressing U.S. citizens and providing its services to them. Though everyone loves bypassing long lines at the DMV, moving the U.S. government online presents a number of problems, many based solely on the problems the internet already has.
The internet has given every person with a computer or smartphone instant access to news and information. It has also allowed those with access to express their opinions and hear the opinions of others, regardless of how informed or qualified these individuals may be. By providing anonymity and large audiences, the internet has commoditized the audience usually reserved for politicians, news anchors, and celebrities.
But, the internet has added pressure to be the first to report on something, resulting in more and more inaccurate and sensationalist headlines. Think about CNN during the Boston Bombing. Think about the young men Reddit accused of being perpetrators of the Bombing who turned out to be innocent. Instant information has allowed thousands of people to process, evaluate, and throw out their half-opinions without consequence. This is a real danger to affected communities and groups as false accusations can have all too real consequences. What would happen if the government experienced these same pressures to provide immediate responses to events? On one hand, they may be forced to provide incomplete or inaccurate information. On the other, they are ridiculed for seemingly knowing nothing.
The internet has also proven to be a convenient meeting ground for the misinformed to gather and reaffirm their opinions with each other. A common thread among these groups is the resentment of opinions other than their own. After all, it requires less effort on their behalf. Look at people like Alex Jones, a man whose radio show advocates almost every conspiracy theory you can think of and claims Obama is a lizard (I’m not kidding). There are people who follow him and aren’t confronted with any opposing opinion since Jones elects to omit every single one. When we combine these closed ideological communities that foster hate and discriminatory beliefs with the ability to make anonymous claims and accusations, we’re creating an anonymous spew of hatred that can clog our country’s political discourse.
Government technology is always behind technological progress, mainly because by the time the devices are made secure they are years old, which means that its web services will never be perfect. Technology and programs constantly behind the times foster programmers whose skills are always behind the times. How secure can a government service website really be when techies in the private sector will always be more skilled with better resources than government contractors are allowed to be?
The internet isn’t going away anytime soon, and people will keep pushing for the United States to move online like other European countries have so far. There are many reasons why this move would be invaluable, but we as a society must make sure we can facilitate and advocate for genuine discussion and not one-sided reinforcement of hurtful ideas, lest we destroy the necessary resource of our country’s discourse. If we’re going to weave technology into our government, we need to make sure it’s up-to-date with enough security to prevent large-scale sabotage or inaccessibility. In order to do this, the government needs to bring in the most skilled techies in the industry.
Without a move to the internet, we will continue to face inconvenience with our government. But, taking that step means exposing the federal government to useless confrontation and further security issues. Perhaps the government wasn’t meant to be just a click away.
