United States: The billionaire has reportedly shifted his focus from developing experimental vaccines to developing forms of digital control.
Bill Gates has demonstrated a strong desire to influence public health, the news landscape, education policy, AI, insect populations, American farmland, the energy sector, foreign policy, and the earth itself, both directly and through his foundation.
He recently hinted that he would also like to see free speech and engagements online shaped to his liking.
CNET asked Gates about dealing with “misinformation,” a topic explored in his forthcoming Netflix docuseries and some of his blog posts, according to the reports.
The billionaire answered that “systems and behaviors” will be in place to expose content originators.
Gates suggested that the “boundary between … crazy but free speech versus misleading people in a dangerous way or inciting them is a very tough boundary.”
“You know, I think every country’s struggling to find that boundary,” said Gates. “The US is a tough one because, you know, we have the notion of the First Amendment. So what are the exceptions? You know, like yelling ‘fire’ in a theater.”
The billionaire has previously hinted at the types of speech he finds concerning.
In a January 2021 MSNBC interview, Gates objected to content that encouraged people not to trust advice on masks or taking the vaccine.
When fear-mongering about potential “openness” on Twitter following its acquisition by Elon Musk, Gates insinuated that the suggestions that “vaccines kill people” and that “Bill Gates is tracking people” were similarly beyond the pale.
Gates expressed concern to CNET about the potential for people to spread “misinformation” anonymously online, which goes against constitutionally protected speech, as per reports.
“I do think over time, you know, with things like deep-fakes, most of the time you’re online, you’re going to want to be in an environment where the people are truly identified,” continued Gates.
“That is, they’re connected to a real-world identity that you trust instead of people just saying whatever they want,” He added.
The online environment Gates appears to be describing is some digital ID-based panopticon.
Gates has supported several initiatives aimed at connecting people to digital identities.
For example, Gates’ foundation has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the United Nations Development Program-led 50-in-5 Campaign, which places a significant emphasis on digital ID.
The UNDP said in a November 2023 release, “This ambitious, country-led campaign heralds a new chapter in the global momentum around digital public infrastructure (DPI) — an underlying network of components such as digital payments, ID, and data exchange systems, which is a critical accelerator of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
Return previously reported that the Gates-backed Gavi, also known as the Vaccine Alliance, Mastercard, and NGOs in the fintech space have been trialing a digital vaccine passport called the Wellness Pass in Africa.
This vaccine passport is seen as a helpful tool for tracking patients in underserved communities through various touchpoints. It is part of a group of consumer-facing Mastercard products designed to encourage people to use a cashless digital ID system, according to reports.
This system is meant to automate compliance with prescribed pharmaceutical regimens and create a dependence on at least one non-governmental entity with a specific ideology.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supports research into biocompatible near-infrared quantum dots to indicate vaccination status.
Additionally, they are backing the World Health Organization’s 2021 guidance on “Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates: Vaccination Status.”
This guidance discusses the deployment of a vaccine passport solution to address the immediate needs of the pandemic and to build digital health infrastructure that can be a foundation for digital vaccination certificates beyond COVID-19.
Even though there are still ways for people to interact anonymously online, such as whistleblowers or individuals who can’t freely express their views publicly due to their jobs, Gates expressed his desire for more awareness about these systems and behaviors in a CNET interview.
Reportedly, he questioned who created these systems and behaviors.
According to CNBC, Gates is “sensitive” to concerns that limiting information online could negatively impact the right to free speech. However, he still wants new rules established, although he did not specify what those would involve.
However, in recent years, he has indicated where he believes the government crackdown should commence.
Gates told Wired in 2020 that the government should allow messages to be hidden with encryption on programs such as WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
What are your thoughts on governments implementing Digital IDs?
