[free-sklyarov] Compromise? Balance?

[Eric C. Grimm]

William Ahern says:

But, the internet gives power to the people. The internet is the great
equalizer, and that's why all of those lusers out in dot.com land are so
frustrated rent seeking.

But, in order to keep it that way, and to keep the capacity for change in
OUR hands, we need to keep it open. (that means fighting things like the
DMCA and and also more subtle things like data-differentiation on  the
network, like what the big backbone providers are pushing for (think about
the ATM craze)).

So, on-the-whole things are probably brighter than what one could
superficially take from your piece  . . .

__________________________

I certainly agree with you, at least to a point, William.  The Interent
certainly CAN be (or, more acurately, can become again) the "great
equalizer."  But certainly, no particular future is foreordained or
inevitable.

The Internet is what we (collectively) make of it.  And, if we are not
careful, the Internet and information technology generally it is at least
equally likely to become -- as professor Lessig puts it -- "the instrument
of perfect control" as it is to enhance freedom.  Based on observing both
technological and legislative developments for some time, I hate to say that
I must put myself squarely in the camp of the "pessimists" along with
Lawrence Lessig -- and perhaps our own resident editorialist / "journalist"
/ kibitzer from Wired.

At least if the arrow of legislation over the past several years points in
the general direction of where we are headed (and we can look to other signs
like software licenses or frequency of surreptitious insertion of data
collection mechanisms into both Interenet content and "client" software
code), then I have to say the day of "perfect control" may be much closer at
hand than the dawn of "perfect freedom."  But again, that will be so only if
people make it so.

What say you?

Eric C. Grimm
CyberBrief, PLC
320 South Main Street
P.O. Box 7341
Ann Arbor, MI  48107-7341
734.332.4900
fax 734.332.4901
eric.grimm at CyberBrief.net