Peter Huber on the Orwellian Falacy

[Robert Hettinga]

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Date: Wed, 31 Dec 1997 15:09:58 -0500
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From: The Old Bear <oldbear at arctos.com>
Subject: Peter Huber on the Orwellian Falacy
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   HIGH-TECH'S LIBERATING EFFECT

   As the Internet makes inroads into information-restrictive nations,
   such as China, efforts to limit access to only "desirable" ideas
   are doomed to failure, say experts.

   "The complaint one hears against the Internet isn't that there is
   too little speech," says Manhattan Institute analyst Peter Huber.
   "Instead, the argument is that there is too much hateful or
   pornographic speech.

   Stalin manipulated the past, altering photos and just wiping
   people and events out of the historical record.  But today,
   documents and photos get downloaded and stored in files all over
   the world.  You can make corrupt copies, false copies, but you
   can't erase real copies now."

   Huber, author of the book "Orwell's Revenge," applauds the move
   by industry to make encryption products widely available:  "It
   means that we can now create a zone of privacy that the government
   can't penetrate.  That's the exact opposite of what Orwell through
   would happen."

   source: Investor's Business Daily
           December 30, 1997
           as summarized by Edupage



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