More On Nationalizing The Internet
from the let-me-clarify... dept
Last week we posted Bill Thompson’s article talking about nationalizing the internet so that each country could have its own internet with it’s own rules. I thought it was a bad idea, and Thompson even stopped by Techdirt to explain why he still thought it was a good idea. Apparently, the article got quite a lot of attention and he’s written another article talking about the response and trying to clarify his position. He also conducted an interview with the Register to further expound on his point (kudos to the Register for actually pushing back in the interview and not just nodding in agreement like so many interviews these days). As far as I can understand, his argument is still, basically: (1) US laws suck and are (2) getting worse. (3) He doesn’t want to abide by them, so (4) the best bet is to create his own internet with the laws of his particular country. I also think he tries to mischaracterize the debate somewhat by making fun of people who think special laws are needed for the internet. While I don’t necessarily think that special laws are needed for the internet, I do think that we need more technologically savvy judges (and policy makers) who can understand why their decisions are more harmful than helpful.
