Leave The Internet Alone? Part 1

Apparently, the Obama administration, who has broken new ground in using the Web for a more transparent and engaged government with citizens, is no longer just “leaving it alone.” This marks a significant shift in U.S. government policy regarding structure and legislation on Internet activity. That may just be a good thing and about time. It certainly marks a point of maturity for the Web and the Internet in the U.S.

Here’s our view on why we think this presents some upsides overall and what it may portend.

1. Necessary Protections: Let’s start with child protection. It’s needed. That is an undeniable fact. Canada and the UK would likely follow suit and we’d have better protection for children. Let’s follow that with the Nigerian 419 scams and all the Phishing attacks, spam-bots and Malware sites. Which will only get worse and threaten an entire economic model that has evolved. This is one of the key areas covered by “Internet Policy 3.0″ by the Obama administration.

2. Social Network Implications: Strikingly, in his statement, Senator Larry Strickling shows that government fully acknowledges the voice of the citizen in this new medium as the Internet (sic. Web) is a social as well as business network. That is a significant point of identification of a medium that shouldn’t be missed.

3. Copyright Protections: As per the Digital Economy Bill going through the UK parliament to provide legal protections on copyright, so the US is making these considerations. People who have worked hard for their content deserve some form of protection. The Creative Commons only goes so far and has not entirely resolved these issues.

The implications are broad and some changes will not be welcomed. No doubt they will change the landscape of the Web around the world. What you may be prosecuted for in one country, may be legal in another. We’ve already seen the impact on the U.S. gambling laws for the Internet; it shut down some foreign operators entirely. Likely we will see “underground” networks proliferate, creating a whole new level of policing pressures on government. More perhaps, than now. But to make open government work, some legislation is necessary. The question is “how much” and I don’t pretend to have that answer. Whoever does is set to make some good money though.

At least the U.S. approach is more moderate and open-minded than places like Italy who jailed Google executives recently. Then there’s the UN’s Internet Governance Forum, which is seeing increased input from donor nation governments, that’s not necessarily bad, or good.

This won’t be easy, for either government or citizens. But the lawless days of the Web are drawing to a close and it will be a new landscape in a few years. I suspect we’ll end up with a more transparent and collaborative government with a more engaged citizenship. The Web has grown up a little this year already. Perhaps now it is a teenager than a rampant two-year old?

(Author: G. Crouch)