NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Re: NYTimes on U.S. vs. Europe on Privacy and Google
Date: Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:49:15 -0800
From: Barry Gold <BarryDGold@ca.rr.com>
Subject: [ NNSquad ] Re: NYTimes on U.S. vs. Europe on Privacy and Google
To: nnsquad <nnsquad@nnsquad.org>
Lauren Weinstein wrote:
> NYTimes on U.S. vs. Europe on Privacy and Google
>
> http://bit.ly/bxfyHN (New York Times)
The discussion of free speech vs. privacy is worth reading. As an
American, I tend to lean toward free speech, but privacy is also important.
One question not addressed is, does Google need to "be" in Italy? If
Italian courts are hostile to the concept that a passive provider of other
people's concept logically _cannot_ be responsible for that content(*),
then perhaps Google should say, OK, we'll keep servers elsewhere, and
perhaps pay the Italian equivalent of Akamai to provide edge service.
(*) At least until we get true AI, so that a computer can review
everything posted for compliance with various laws. ANd in many ways that
could be _worse_ than the current situation.
[ I've seen no concrete evidence to suggest that the Italian
government's desire in this case was limited to blocking
Italians from seeing particular videos. Of course even this is
impossible in a practical sense, since if Google blocked Italian
IP address ranges, and Italian ISPs also tried to block specific
videos, Italian users could still use proxies, VPNs, mirror
sites, and the like to feast on the forbidden fruit.
But the attitude of many countries (including Italy) seems to be
that they don't want their populace viewing certain materials,
*and* they will attempt to block the *entire world* from seeing
those items as well, by seeking global takedowns, and
prosecuting executives of international firms.
Absent harmonization of key privacy and related laws
internationally to encourage free speech, we run a serious risk
of a rapid race to the bottom of "lowest common denominator"
content being the only legal viewing for much of the world, and
the relegation of vast numbers of Internet users to the
classification of "outlaws" for bypassing their governments'
attempts at information and thought control.
-- Lauren Weinstein
NNSquad Moderator ]