As an ink-stained wretch, Ive been fascinated by the controversy over the WikiLeaks disclosure of secret diplomatic cables and more recently, the Federal Communications Commission decision on whats called Net neutrality.
The issues are nothing new since they involve government trying to control what people know and what they do. But the medium is relatively new since both issues involve communication over the Internet.
Newspapers have been publishing government documents for ages.
In my era, the big one was the Pentagon Papers, a secret government report on U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War that wound up on the front page of the New York Times.
The report was created by a Vietnam Study Task Force commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, and it showed that the government had been dishonest with the public about Vietnam.
WikiLeaks has prompted the CIA to launch a new group, the WikiLeaks Task Force, to find out how much the United States was hurt by the leaked diplomatic cables and what can be done about such disclosures.
Whether WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is merely a hacker or whether hes a journalist who deserves protection under the First Amendment is a matter of significant debate right now.
Im not sure about that yet, but I know one thing.
If the CIA thinks its going to control whats distributed on the Internet, it should forget that idea right now.
Thats not to say people who break the law shouldnt be prosecuted. But its silly to expect that in a world where were putting all our documents into digital form that at least some of them wont wind up on the Internet.
Should government have complete control over what were told?
I dont think so. And I certainly wouldnt want to live in a place where that happens.
Should business, then, control the Internet? Should it decide whats available to us or how difficult it is to get?
I say no to that, too. And thats where Net neutrality comes in.
Last week, the FCC voted 3-2 to approve new rules that among other things will require businesses to be neutral when distributing Internet content. The decision follows a case where companies wanted to charge more for some types of Internet traffic or slow down the distribution of content from competitors.
The effect of the new rules is still a little uncertain, but the basic intention is a step in the right direction.
There is one Internet and it must remain an open platform, however consumers and innovators access it, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement.
Robert McDowell, a dissenting commissioner, disagreed.
Nothing is broken in the Internet access market that needs fixing, he said, also in a prepared statement.
I think there was something broken. Im sure most Internet users dont want a small group of people controlling what they see on the Internet and how they use it.
The same could be said about a government intelligence agency.
Mike Benbow: 425-339-3459; benbow@heraldnet.com
Article source: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20101227/BIZ/712279945/1011/biz02
Category: Government Security Watch