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'Net Notables Debate the Future
Most people don't spend very much time worrying about what the Internet *means* and how it is changing society -- we're too busy using the 'Net as individuals to bother contemplating the broader picture. "Why is the Phantom Menace movie trailer downloading so %$#& slowly?" is more likely the question on our minds than "I wonder what the implications of broadband digital technology are for democracy and world markets?"
Ivory towers exist in large part to make sure *some* of us are looking at the broader picture, however, and I was delighted at the success of a conference on Internet issues held recently at the Yale Law School, one of Connecticut's quintessential ivory towers. The Internet resists traditional law making and regulation by nature, and it is institutions and laws that must evolve to remain relevant and meet the challenge, according to speaker after speaker at the conference.
Of particular note, during the three sessions I attended:
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Laurence Lessig's argument regarding East Coast Code (law) v. West Coast Code (software.) How many folks have given a thought to the notion that it is software and system architecture that set the bounds of online behavior, as opposed to the government? Lessig has, and his exposition on the implications of software code ownership should serve as a wakeup call for the 'Net's libertarians.
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John Perry Barlow, the ex-Grateful Dead lyricist, author of "A Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace" and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, remains one of the 'Net's more charismatic, opinionated and optimistic citizens -- and if he is right, lawyers and government officials who try to regulate the Internet are only wasting our time and annoying us. If he's wrong, time has already passed him by. We won't know which it is for a while yet -- that's the problem with visionaries.
- The 'Net is changing journalism, and the media is still feeling its way. Amy Harmon of the New York Times noted that email is breaking down the traditional barriers between readers and reporters, somewhat to the dismay of management. The news cycle has changed. The number of available news sources has increased exponentially. What does all this mean? Media management doesn't know, and turns to reporters who are Internet savvy to explain it to them.
Conferences such as this one most usually take place in Boston, New York or Washington, D.C. (when they're on the East Coast at all.) Congratulations to the students and faculty of Yale Law School for bringing such an event to New Haven, and here's hoping the conference will become an annual event.
Further information about "Private Censorship and Perfect Choice: Speech and Regulation on the Net" remains available online at www.law.yale.edu/censor.
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