Ezra's Bookshelf

Our Biggest Fight

by Frank H. McCourt, Jr. · 225 pages · ~4 hrs

Science & TechnologySociety & Culture

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Frank McCourt argues that the internet's centralized control by a small number of corporations has produced social decay ranging from youth suicide to toxic politics. McCourt, an entrepreneur and civic leader, proposes a fundamental restructuring: rebuilding the internet around digital property rights and user autonomy rather than platform surveillance. His proposal, called Protocol, would give individuals ownership of their data and the ability to move between services freely. The book combines diagnosis with advocacy, examining how we arrived at the current system and what an alternative might look like. McCourt draws on his experience building businesses and on conversations with technologists, policymakers, and activists. He acknowledges that restructuring the internet faces enormous obstacles but argues that the alternative—continued decline into polarization and psychological harm—is worse. The book is aimed at general readers seeking to understand what has gone wrong with our digital infrastructure and what might be done about it. McCourt writes with urgency about stakes he believes are civilizational.

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