The Internet Is Turning Into A Tool For Control
from the freedom-vs.-control dept
Andrew Leonard, over at Salon, is looking at a number of the "hot topics" going around these days and finds some similarities - noting that, in many cases, we seem to be facing a battle of freedom of information vs. control - and, despite what some people think of the internet, it's quickly becoming a tool for control, rather than freedom. Specifically, he talks about the recent focus on spam legislation, library filters, and music downloaders. In all three cases, the initial "freedom" of the internet is being constrained (not very well, in most cases) by new laws that use the same internet to try to exert control. It's an interesting comparison, and concludes by toeing the Libertarian line that too much control (no matter what the situation) puts us at risk. In each case, he believes, a technology solution will lead to a much better result than a legislative solution.
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The internet is...
It is the battlefield upon which the fight can take place.
Technology is completely neutral and hence can be considered the medium through which other things happen be they control or freedom or chaos.
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