Vanity Fair on who should/could control the internet and whether it’s even possible to. Affects all of us. Great graphic. Worth a read.
World War 3.0
TWO FUTURES? Privacy, piracy, security, sovereignty—the divisions on these issues reflect an even deeper split between those who want tight control and those who want unfettered freedom.
When the Internet was created, decades ago, one thing was inevitable: the war today over how (or whether) to control it, and who should have that power. Battle lines have been drawn between repressive regimes and Western democracies, corporations and customers, hackers and law enforcement. Looking toward a year-end negotiation in Dubai, where 193 nations will gather to revise a U.N. treaty concerning the Internet, Michael Joseph Gross lays out the stakes in a conflict that could split the virtual world as we know it.
Sentences. Have you heard. Of them?
Does not compute. Unable to infer subject. Peppers effusive weather reports delivered in strong American accent with climate change denial.
I’ve recently heard the internet described as a ‘human right’. If so, it’s only natural somebody would want control of it.
Even though it equally screws with Berners-Lee’s grand concept for the world wide web and my wishful thinking non dystopian view of the future, I’d accept some regulation around freedom of expression to curb hate speech and anti social web sites and the like, but if the virtual hawks have their day and stifle the freedoms we now take for granted, something else will replace it and the game is on again.
WW3.0
We have been here before of course. The Alexandra Library was destroyed because it represented the power of free thought. When South America was invaded once again we saw the books of a whole civilisation destroyed because they represented ideas that the new authority did not wish survive. When the printing press became popular it was not long before the authorities regulated it to control what books were printed, which formed the basis of todays copyright legislation. For a while the system of mass media was successful in controlling what the public read and heard, but now the net reintroduces us to democratised communication. The way corporate media deals with this threat is not dissimilar to the reactions in past generations from those in authority; to seek to either control or destroy it. Let us not forget the lessons of the past.
And Peter the mass book burning by Hitler’s mates in the late 30s.
Information is spun by spinners now. Though as John Campbell said last week, “With hundreds of Media spokesmen employed around the country, how is it that the buggers are never there to make comment on important questions of the day?”
The greatest challenge facing society is to develop the skills to be able to sort out the validity of the information to hand.
Hi Peter,
I’m fascinated by your account of the destruction of the Library of Alexandra. I think its still standing: http://www.codc-qldc.govt.nz/page.pasp?pageid=59
Seriously though, do you have references for your really intriguing ideas? I think Laurence Lessig’s recent keynote at COG would be interesting to you:
http://vimeo.com/39188615
@Peter – Good points!
Sadly Labour has continued to help give control of NZ’s internet to multinational corporations.