Re: Fwd: Taming the Web - Can the Internet be controlled?

From: Eugene Leitl (Eugene.Leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)
Date: Fri Aug 31 2001 - 01:37:10 MDT


On Fri, 31 Aug 2001, Chen Yixiong, Eric wrote:

> Aug. 17 — “Information wants to be free.” “The Internet can’t be
> controlled.” We’ve heard it so often that we sometimes take for
> granted that it’s true. But the Internet can be controlled, and those
> who argue otherwise are hastening the day when it will be controlled
> too much, by the wrong people, and for the wrong reasons.

The Internet is just a physical layer. To remain useful, it must offer
services. Online commerce relies on safe information transport. Safe
information transport relies on strong cryptography. Using existing
cryptographic channels and steganographic packaging of said cryptographic
channels over multimedia links in peer to peer networks makes centralized
control largely illusory. You can't block if there's no recognizable
location, and you can't filter if there's no recognizable content.

Elementary? Apparently not.

The first generation of tools is out there already. Use them.

        http://freenet.sourceforge.net/

        http://mojonation.net/

        http://gale.org/

        http://www.speakfreely.org/ (also PGPfone, Nautilus, and others)

You're responsible not only for what you do, but also for what you fail to
do.



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