"Cool Tools for Tyrants"

[Seth Finkelstein]

http://legalaffairs.org/issues/January-February-2006/
feature_bambauer_janfeb06.msp

Cool Tools for Tyrants

The latest American technology helps the Chinese government and other
repressive regimes clamp down.

By Derek Bambauer

"... Curbing market freedom to protect human rights inevitably limits
profits, an unappealing prospect in the best of circumstances. With
this no doubt in mind, companies argue that merely doing business with
repressive nations helps open the nations to democracy, free trade,
and human rights. Cisco CEO John Chambers said recently, "Anytime
you've got a good exchange of information, citizens benefit as a
whole." And Microsoft has argued that a censored Internet is better
than no Internet: Although the company's Chinese MSN Spaces web-log
software prevents users from writing words like "democracy" and "human
rights" in the titles to their postings, it encourages a central value
of democracy by promoting self-expression.

But there is little evidence to support these views. Despite China's
five million bloggers, the Communist Party remains firmly in control
of the nation and, for the most part, the Internet within its
borders. Iran's blogging community is perhaps the country's liveliest
political arena, yet the authoritarian Iranian government is stronger
than ever, especially after a resounding victory in February 2004
elections. Contrary to the utopian view that the Internet evades local
control, governments are proving adept at controlling the information
that their citizens receive and share. Market freedom does not
necessarily lead to personal freedom. We must at times limit the first
to safeguard the second; the right to sell must sometimes yield to
protect the right to speak."

--
Seth Finkelstein  Consulting Programmer  http://sethf.com
Infothought blog - http://sethf.com/infothought/blog/
Interview: http://sethf.com/essays/major/greplaw-interview.php


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