Coders seeking to do good in the world will find much inspiration here.
Kirkus Reviews
She's building a powerful case for the fact that technology as we know it—omnipresent, flawed, world-improving—has become so entrenched and static that it really does need the hackers worrying the edges of its firewalls. In Webb's telling, hackers aren't heroes destined to bring the world to a grand new order of their own transgressive imaginings. They're agents of positive chaos.
Wired
'Coding Democracy' is a thorough, well-written work of scholarship that should be seen as a welcome addition to a growing body of work about the relationship between computing, society and government. A lawyer, Webb is able to weave the hacker narrative into various strands of thought relating to political science, history, legislation, law enforcement, regulations, civil law, politics and ethics.
Journal of Cyber Policy
Included in Wired's "13 Must Read Books for Spring 2020."
Coding Democracy is an in-depth international study of the emergence of hacking as a democratic initiative. The story is fascinating and instructive. The struggle for the Internet continues a long history of attempts by computer users to reconcile technology and freedom. That struggle is not yet over.
Andrew Feenberg, author of Technosystem: The Social Life of Reason
Chaos Computer Club, PGP, EFF; Assange, Cyphepunks, Anonymous; Snowden; GNU, Tor, Solid, Bitcoin, Cinque Stella, Liquid Democracy, Xnet, Ethelo: Coding Democracy is an accessible hacker ABC for both Generation Z and those coming late to the party. Enjoy this journey to the electronic pioneers who are reinventing democracy in the digital age.
Geert Lovink, media theorist and internet critic at the Institute of Network Cultures
Since information warfare is now a daily reality, it's important to understand how the global hacker community has evolved over decades. Coding Democracy shows how the current generation of hackers have turned themselves toward protecting the public against the more dangerous pursuits of today's information war.
Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and Craig Newmark Philanthropies
In Coding Democracy, Webb charts the history of the thinkers, activists, and hackers vying to define the contested terrain that is the internet. At a time when technology seems to be enabling the most dystopian impulses of corporations and countries alike, Coding Democracy renews hope by spotlighting the counter-current of resistance that imagines technology enabling a better, more just world. Maureen's background—as both a labor activist and attorney—infuses her storytelling with a thought-provoking, critical perspective.
Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers
