Is There a Good Side to Regulation of the Internet?

In the past few weeks, statements of ‘the internet is dead’ and ‘google shall rule the earth’, have been released. Large corporations, which will not be named, are pushing articles that attack the FCC for dragging their feet to approve their platforms; blaming the agency for the loss of jobs, etc.

Yet, this process needs more time. More products and services are becoming digital. This means that regulation needs to review consensus over time of the internet/mobile movements and act accordingly. It is a very sticky situation and requires many different government agencies and voting procedures. Giving corporations full control of their networks is not the solution as the internet needs to maintain a certain amount of integrity. The corporations would have a monopoly to sell result slots for each search and privacy would be even more of an issue. The reason the FCC and related commissions are taking their time is information control. When is it okay to block information? An example of the positive side effect of blocking is Prince’s album. It could only be released on the site of his choice. This would cut down on large scale theft for many industries which have suffered from the all too available information that should have been paid to view. This would help our economy. Yet, it could also create an even more complex black market, creating problems in the long run. Maybe it would be easier to create a more aggressive social campaign as they did in the 50s and 80s: ‘Made in America’ or ‘Keep America Beautiful’. The moral codes of picking up after yourself and buying American promoted an emotion that has helped in regions of this country. Then the social norm could be passed through the generations without the extra legalities. As this does not seem to be a strong trend to push new social norms other than outrageous behavior posted on many of the reality series, but it may be an overlooked possibility.

However, blocking one piece of information also means that people wonder how much more information is intercepted. One must consider the large-scale costs of all the lawsuits and theft that could be prevented if stolen information could be blocked from one source. Are virtual fences the right way to having a profitable, open landscape for the future? With that said, the mobile networks and the internet will one day merge into one telecom system. It would be naive though to think that this network would be the only system of informational transport. We have always branched out into subcultures based on our interests. If people do not like what they are reading or begin to distrust, they move away and form their own.

In the meantime, while the corporations hash out their hopes with the FCC and the internet merges into all-access cloud network… enjoy all the sensational news! Please stay up to date and write your concerns. Be involved as much as possible.