Topic: Government Regulation
Internet Repression: A Clear and Present Danger One keystone of Liberty is freedom of speech. If the internet becomes a controlled-delivery medium, Liberty must necessarily suffer. Private ownership could save the day by doing an end-run around government regulation.by creator
(libertarian)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
The internet has become an outstanding channel for freedom of speech, amplifying lonely "voices in the wilderness" and making them instantly accessible to anyone with a network connection. No longer does the liberty-loving citizen in Anytown, USA need to feel isolated and alone - he or she can hop on the "internet freeway" and instantly be in communication with thousands of others that share the same concerns.
Although the internet originated in government think-tanks, the resulting network has had the unintended consequence of bringing freedom of speech and freedom of association to a new and unprecedented level of effectiveness. The kind of liberty represented by the internet strikes terror in the hearts of tyrants like nothing before. It shines the light of truth on government misconduct, and because "men loved darkness rather than light" (John 3:19,) the powers that be are scrambling to try and "put the genie back in the bottle."
However, the founding documents of the United States contain some of the strongest guarantees of free speech anywhere. The first amendment is very clear:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
How then is it that the internet can be regulated and restricted, and that it faces threats of taxation and growing restrictions both from wealthy corporate interests and skittish governments in mortal fear of an informed populace?
"Few governments have resisted the opportunity in the past two years to enact laws restricting a range of civil rights. The Internet is seen by many of these governments as a potential threat to security and authority."
The premise that underlies government control of the internet is inherently quite simple: the network in it's present form is an aggregate of government and commercial entities, most of which fall under various governmental jurisdictions. While the Federal Communications Commission can only legitimately claim control over commercial interstate communication, much internet traffic does pass through such channels.
Governments everywhere (perhaps more precisely, the money powers behind them) have been working overtime to figure out how to not only limit the effectiveness of free speech on the net, but to actually use the internet as a peerless tabulating, tracking, and surveillance mechanism. Organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and others seek (mostly through legal and political means) to defend freedom of speech on the internet. However, governments have long been notorious for violating the law.
There are laws on the books making telephone wiretapping illegal, but that has not deterred the federal executive branch. Witness the scandalous behavior of the Bush administration, illegally wiretapping, lying about it, and then trying to provide retroactive immunity to Telecoms who aided and abetted that illegal behavior. However, similar protective laws haven't caught up with network technology, and the government routinely demands and receives records from internet service providers detailing the activities of private citizens on the network.
If the United States federal government ultimately has its way in this matter, the internet, while not exactly being "shut down," will become just another controlled media channel with access available only to subject matter deemed "politically correct" by the powers that be. Embarrassing discussions about the unwarranted power of the Federal Reserve, IRS abuses, police misconduct, child-stealing by CPS, and anything else that casts the authoritarian dynasties in a bad light, will become progressively harder and harder to find. News about "Liberty Candidates" like Ron Paul will be suppressed just like in the mainstream media.
Is there anything that can be done about this sorry trend? I believe that there is, but that the most effective approach is not to fight government regulation by legal and political means, but rather to do a technical and pragmatic end-run around the "authorities."
Concerted efforts along these lines have already begun to implement a new, entirely privately owned network infrastructure. Help is however needed from the "average man" to assemble presently disjointed "community networks" into a completely free national -- and ultimately global -- organization beyond the reach of government control.
A network organized as an aggregation of privately owned "community mesh networks" will not be subject to government regulation any more than your conversations with your neighbor across the back-yard fence - that is to say, while government may attempt to stop it, doing so will become increasingly difficult to the point of impossibility.
For details of the "how-to" of this new "wild west" of networking, including what you can do to play a part in it's successful deployment, watch for the next article in this series.
Note: To enjoy the full benefit of this article, go back and click on the hyperlinks for supporting reference material. In some cases, illustrations may also be hyperlinked.
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