in turn gives rise to what William Fisher refers to as ‘‘semiotic democracy.’’
33 Put another way,
the Internet can place the control of cultural goods and the making of meaning in the hands of
many rather than few. The Internet is increasingly an effective counterweight to the consolidation in big media, whether the Internet is controlled by a few capitalists or the state itself.
The Internet also can be a force for economic development, which is most likely the factor
holding back some states from filtering the Internet more extensively or from imposing outright
bans on related technologies. The Internet is widely recognized as a tool that is helping to lead
to the development of technologically sophisticated, empowered middle classes. Entrepreneurship in the information technology sector can lead to innovation, the growth of new firms,
and more jobs.
This critique of Internet filtering boils down to a belief in the value of a relatively open information environment because of the likelihood that it can lead to a beneficial combination of
greater access to information, more transparency, better governance, and faster economic
growth. The Internet, in this sense, is a generative network in human terms. In the hands of
the populace at large, the Internet can give rise to a more empowered, productive citizenry.
An Alternate Viewpoint: The ‘‘Slope of the Freedom Curve’’
As our colleague Charles Nesson has pointed out, another vantage point altogether might
lead to the best conclusion about Internet filtering. The point is not whether a single snapshot
of an Internet filtering regime reveals a ‘‘bad’’ or a ‘‘good’’ system. Two jurisdictions, after all,
could filter in exactly the same way, yet one could be moving toward freedom and the other
toward further control of the online environment. In Professor Nesson’s articulation, the issue
is not the absolute extent of filtering at a given moment but rather the ‘‘slope of the freedom
curve’’ that is most relevant. If the value at issue is whether an ICT environment is relatively
open or relatively closed, then the key fact is whether a state is headed toward a more open
system or a more closed system. The extent to which the Internet filtering picture is in constant
flux lends further appeal to this vantage point.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Filtering, Weblogs, and Wikis
Regardless of whether states are right or wrong to mandate filtering and surveillance, the
slope of the freedom curve favors not the censor but the citizens who wish to evade
the state’s control mechanisms. Most filtering regimes have been built on a presumption that
the Internet is like the broadcast medium that predates it: each Web site is a ‘‘channel,’’
each Web user a ‘‘viewer.’’ Channels with sensitive content are ‘‘turned off,’’ or otherwise
blocked, by authorities who wish to control the information environment. But the Internet is
not a broadcast medium. As the Internet continues to grow in ways that are not like broadcast,
filtering is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out effectively. The extent to which each person using the Internet can at once be a consumer and a creator is particularly vexing to the
Internet Filtering: The Politics and Mechanisms of Control
51
33 Put another way,
the Internet can place the control of cultural goods and the making of meaning in the hands of
many rather than few. The Internet is increasingly an effective counterweight to the consolidation in big media, whether the Internet is controlled by a few capitalists or the state itself.
The Internet also can be a force for economic development, which is most likely the factor
holding back some states from filtering the Internet more extensively or from imposing outright
bans on related technologies. The Internet is widely recognized as a tool that is helping to lead
to the development of technologically sophisticated, empowered middle classes. Entrepreneurship in the information technology sector can lead to innovation, the growth of new firms,
and more jobs.
This critique of Internet filtering boils down to a belief in the value of a relatively open information environment because of the likelihood that it can lead to a beneficial combination of
greater access to information, more transparency, better governance, and faster economic
growth. The Internet, in this sense, is a generative network in human terms. In the hands of
the populace at large, the Internet can give rise to a more empowered, productive citizenry.
An Alternate Viewpoint: The ‘‘Slope of the Freedom Curve’’
As our colleague Charles Nesson has pointed out, another vantage point altogether might
lead to the best conclusion about Internet filtering. The point is not whether a single snapshot
of an Internet filtering regime reveals a ‘‘bad’’ or a ‘‘good’’ system. Two jurisdictions, after all,
could filter in exactly the same way, yet one could be moving toward freedom and the other
toward further control of the online environment. In Professor Nesson’s articulation, the issue
is not the absolute extent of filtering at a given moment but rather the ‘‘slope of the freedom
curve’’ that is most relevant. If the value at issue is whether an ICT environment is relatively
open or relatively closed, then the key fact is whether a state is headed toward a more open
system or a more closed system. The extent to which the Internet filtering picture is in constant
flux lends further appeal to this vantage point.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Filtering, Weblogs, and Wikis
Regardless of whether states are right or wrong to mandate filtering and surveillance, the
slope of the freedom curve favors not the censor but the citizens who wish to evade
the state’s control mechanisms. Most filtering regimes have been built on a presumption that
the Internet is like the broadcast medium that predates it: each Web site is a ‘‘channel,’’
each Web user a ‘‘viewer.’’ Channels with sensitive content are ‘‘turned off,’’ or otherwise
blocked, by authorities who wish to control the information environment. But the Internet is
not a broadcast medium. As the Internet continues to grow in ways that are not like broadcast,
filtering is becoming increasingly difficult to carry out effectively. The extent to which each person using the Internet can at once be a consumer and a creator is particularly vexing to the
Internet Filtering: The Politics and Mechanisms of Control
51