The Internet under Surveillance Obstacles to the free flow of information online
By Vinton G. Cerf Truth is a powerful solvent. Stone walls melt before its relentless might. The Internet is one of the most powerful agents of freedom. It exposes truth to those who wish to see and hear it. It is no wonder that some governments and organizations fear the Internet and its ability to make the truth known. The phrase "freedom of speech" is often used to characterize a key element of democratic societies : open communication and especially open government. But freedom of speech is less than half of the equation. It is also vital that citizens have the freedom to hear and see. It is the latter area in which many governments have intervened in an attempt to prevent citizens from gaining access to information that their governments wish to withhold from them. The equation is even more complex than simply speaking and hearing or writing and reading. The Internet is much like a piece of paper. The paper is unaware of what is written upon it. The Internet is equally oblivious. It delivers information and misinformation with equal facility. Thus it can become a tool for the delivery of bad data. Worse, this effect may be propagated less by design than by ignorance. It surprises me how often I will find a strident warning in my email inbox forwarded to me by some who should know better, proclaiming that the post office is going to start charging for email or that Microsoft will pay for the forwarding of each copy of the enclosed message. These are all hoaxes but readers are too lazy or perhaps too stupid to take the time to check before they forward. The antidote for bad information is not censorship but more and better information. Of course, this places a burden on the consumer of information to pay attention and to think critically about what is seen and heard. Surely this is what a responsible citizen should be doing. And surely this is what we should be teaching our children at home and at school. <snip> http://www.rsf.fr/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=378 Lots of good stuff. John
