Forgetting the bit about human rights for a second, in his conclusion Cerf goes for this odd statement that:

"In this context, engineers have not only a tremendous obligation to empower users, but also an obligation to ensure the safety of users online." Ummmm, yesssss

"Technologists should work toward this end." And, as far as I know, they are.

This entire column just seems like wasted space and time, arguing frantically against... what, precisely? Engineers who don't think about "harms like viruses and worms that silently invade their computers"? There's a lot of alarmist language, and very little substance.