Tag: internet

The fight over the Internet is a fight over the Power of Narrative, just like with the printing press

The fight over the Internet has happened before, almost step by step, with the fight over the printing press 550 years ago. As the Catholic Church lost its power to interpret reality, it attacked any usage of the new copying technology, up to and including the death penalty. What it is, is a fight over … Continue reading “The fight over the Internet is a fight over the Power of Narrative, just like with the printing press”

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Regulators genuinely don’t understand the Internet can work fine without their regulation

Every now and then, we see regulators trying the most asinine move toward the Internet: banning encryption, requiring this, prohibiting that. They seem to be trying things at random, and a lot of it can be explained with regulators not being permitted to allow the Internet to come into being in the first place. Regulators … Continue reading “Regulators genuinely don’t understand the Internet can work fine without their regulation”

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As horrible as Internet surveillance is, the alternative could have been far worse

While the Internet has turned into a global surveillance machine, with only tech-aware and privacy-aware people opting out of the surveillance, it’s important to remember that we could have had something far worse. In the 1990s, the telcos were aggressively pushing for their own version of a packet switched network – and had they won … Continue reading “As horrible as Internet surveillance is, the alternative could have been far worse”

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It’s the 1800s all over again: Free enterprise never really existed before now

In the years 1791 to about 1850, laws were passed that abolished trade guilds as the permission-givers to run a business. But as we speak of “permissionless innovation” today, and see how these “permissionless” businesses often violate old regulations, we realize that the requirement for a permit to run a business never went away: the … Continue reading “It’s the 1800s all over again: Free enterprise never really existed before now”

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