Quote:
Originally posted by Vigil
...I'm afraid that we are at the beginning of a movement against internet freedoms.
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Vigil,
Yes, we are.
China already has extensive political control over the WWW content accessible in that country. Attorney General John Ashcroft would jump at the chance to purity Web content. There are many, many people who would feel comfortable with what would be termed “content regulation”.
There was a saying at the onset of the WWW that it would respond to censorship as damage and “route around it”.
That has been proven to be false. A government, though one of its regulatory agencies, say the FCC here in the States, imposes regulations on the major POPs, which are business and liable to regulation. It will, of necessity begin with the most notorious of sites, say ones that promote child abuse as “Menplay” or some other acceptable euphemism. I believe (and I’d like some feedback here) that the FBI’s “Carnivore” email intercept application has already passed legal review.
Once the principle has been established, the question changes to “how much” and “which ones”.
Many posters here at Pixies have taken exception, to one degree or other, with my position that political involvement is not only unavoidable, but necessary and good. While it may be a distasteful activity, being politically active in the defense of the freedoms we enjoy is the only way to maintain them.