Getting a little perspective is often a very sobering thing. For example, it is hard to complain too much about the food situation here in Canada when you really understand that tens of thousands of people are dying of starvation in Africa every month. McDonalds is pretty bad but it sure is a damn sight better than that. In a similar vein I submit to you this link, which details how in Belarus the government has officially banned visiting any site on the internet that does not originate in Belarus. Want to use Google? Illegal. Want to buy something from Amazon? Illegal. Want to use thesaurus.com? Illegal. Who the HELL thought that was a good idea?!?
The various 'control the internet' initiatives in this part of the world don't look so bad when you consider that monstrosity.
I only partially agree. The difference between the food in Canada and the food situation in a lot of other places in the world is much, much larger than the difference between the crazy internet laws of first world countries and those of Belarus.
ReplyDeleteAmerica's proposed law would allow the government to censor any sites for basically any arbitrary reason. That's better than the Belarus law, but only by coincidence - the next government of the US could decide to ban all non-US sites under the law. Italy's crazy internet law opens up internet providers to so much liability that it may end up shutting down internet in the country completely (not an exaggeration).
The big different between western laws and the Belarus law is that the law in Belarus is clearly designed to help oppress the people and these insane western laws are merely being passed by people who have absolutely no understanding of the laws they are passing or the things they are passing laws about. The consequences, however might not be as different as we'd like.