I’m due to be on a panel at Supernova in five minutes. I won’t be there. If I were, I would say the following, and then some. Alas, no time. But, since the Net is essentially spaceless, here ya go:
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If you say the Net is a system of “pipes” and “lines” for “transporting” stuff called “content” that you “deliver” from “producers” to “consumers,” what are you saying the Net is? More importantly, how would you regulate it? |
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Now, if you say the Net is a collection of “sites” that you “architect,” “design” and “build,” at “locations” with “addresses” and “domains,” across an “environment” or a “world” or a “space,” what are you saying the Net is and how would you regulate it? |
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These are not academic distinctions. These are the very understandings, some of them very contradictory, on which we build businesses and make or apply laws that govern the way the Net is build and used — and who gets to do either. |
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For a picture of where this can lead, let me direct you to the FCC Consumer Facts Page on “Obscene, Indecent, and Profane Broadcasts.” Especially this line: |
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Obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution and cannot be broadcast at any time. |
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The Supreme Court has upheld the law here. |
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Look at the framing of obscenity law, and of the 1934 and 1996 communications acts. They are filled with the language of transport. |
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Then think again about what the Net is. |
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