Zittrain Discusses His New Book "The Future of the Internet"

Jonathan Zittrain is the author of a new book entitled "The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It." In it he discusses the implications of complete openness and why a "generative" Internet must be actively protected from sterile, closed platforms like the iPhone. In this interview, which is remarkably well done by a mainstream reporter, Zittrain explains the book.



I hope to read the work this summer; it looks fascinating.

On a related note, Zittrain co-founded the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School. I'll be attending their 10 year anniversary conference next month and the agenda is great, so I recommend you check it out.

Senate Hearing on Net Neutrality

Today the Senate held a hearing on network neutrality attended by, among others, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Lawrence Lessig. In general Democrats are recognizing that a set of sound principles is needed to assure a consistent end-to-end network. The Republican, on the other hand, think net neutrality would stifle innovation and investment through burdensome regulation. Ars Technica has good coverage:

Recognizing the unintentional problems that regulation can create, Kerry called for "principles, not nitpicky regulatory structure."

Dorgan, one of the co-sponsors of a network neutrality bill still pending in the Senate, likewise was incredulous that anyone could consider this some kind of intrusive government interference. "Who on earth is standing up for discrimination?" he thundered.

Well, Ted Stevens (R-AK) is, for one. Though he said little at the hearing, the octogenarian did offer his brief take on network neutrality: "extensive regulation of the Internet, that's what net neutrality means to me." Pithy.

73.2% of Linux Edits are Corporate in Origin

Via Nicholas Carr, a recent survey of the changes to Linux over the past three years shows that 73.2% of the changes to the kernel are from corporations (IBM, Red Hat, Novell, etc.). Carr sees this as the triumph of the market enclosing the free labor of peer production.

The shift in Linux kernel development from unpaid to paid labor, from volunteers to employees, suggests that the Net doesn't necessarily weaken the hand of central management or repeal old truths about business organization.

I think this is a notable occurrence, but not entirely unforeseeable. These corporations have a high incentive to improve Linux due to their reliance on it. However, it is still interesting that these disparate organizations are working together through often informal chains to create something of such value.

Although it dealt with websites, this could also serve to influence the outcome of the Carr-Benkler Wager.

I'll be sure to update this post as others weigh in with more enlightened views.

Quote of the Day

In reading for my economic development course, I came across the following quote from Joseph Stiglitz, former Chief Economist of the World Bank and Chairman of Clinton's Council of Economic Advisors:

The Uruguay Round TRIPs Agreement, which is Trade-Related Intellectual Property, has nothing to do with trade. They just put "trade-related" because they had to put that in there to have it in a trade agreement. That was the real ingenuity.

There was already an intellectual property organization, called WIPO, the World Intellectual Property Organization. But they wanted the trade ministers to do it because the trade ministers didn't know anything about intellectual property, and that meant they were much more vulnerable to the influences of the special interests.

They put in provisions that were explicitly designed to reduce access to generic medicines. Just to highlight why that's important, a generic AIDS medicine, for instance, costs under $300 for a year's treatment. The brand name is $10,000. If your income is $500 a year or $300 a year, or even $5,000 a year, you can't afford $10,000 a year for the brand name. So when they were signing that agreement in Marrakesh, they were signing the death warrants for thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa. That was the consequence.

This is a pretty damning indictment of international intellectual property agreements.

Nelson Pavlosky Speaks at Georgetown

As a student at Swarthmore, Nelson Pavlosky sued Diebold (the voting machine manufacturer) for abusing copyright. His case set an important precedent for free speech in the digital age. He would go on to form the international Students for Free Culture organization, of which Georgetown's chapter is the newest.

On Wednesday, April 16th at 7:15 in Healy 103 Nelson will be speaking at Georgetown University. His talk will cover free speech, the DMCA, open source, fair use and the Free Culture movement. See more about him here. Join the Facebook event here.

Again, all are invited and should contact me at georgetownfreeculture (at) gmail.com with any questions.

Georgetown Students for Free Culture

I am currently a freshman at Georgetown University in Washington, DC and have started the campus chapter of Students for Free Culture.

This Wednesday, April 9th, we are showing the documentary film "Freedom of Expression" in Healy Hall 103 on campus. The film will start at 7:30pm.

Description

In 1998, university professor Kembrew McLeod (Associate Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Iowa) trademarked the phrase “freedom of expression” — a startling comment on the way that intellectual property law restricts creativity and the expression of ideas. This provocative and amusing documentary explores the battles being waged in courts, classrooms, museums, film studios, and the Internet over control of our cultural commons. Based on McLeod's award-winning book of the same title, Freedom of Expression® charts the many successful attempts to push back the assault on free expression by overzealous copyright holders. Freedom of Expression® is an essential tool for educators, activists, filmmakers, students, artists, librarians, and more.

All are welcome, so any DC-area readers who would like to come are more than welcome. The embedded map should help you find the room, but if you have any questions, email me at kevin (at) copyrightings.com


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The Real Danger of Wiretapping

Julian Sanchez has an Op-Ed at the LA Times which does a wonderful job reframing the debate over government wiretapping. The majority of the time the debate over government surveillance is considered a trade-off between privacy and security. Julian, however, points to the fact that the weight of history suggests the real value to be lost is political freedom and democracy.

Citing examples throughout the 20th Century, Julian notes that "Without meaningful oversight, presidents and intelligence agencies can -- and repeatedly have -- abused their surveillance authority to spy on political enemies and dissenters."

Have a read.

Chinese Censorship during Tibetan Protests

My interest in copyright reform stems from a larger desire to see the possibilities of technology recognized. One such possibility is that of free expression through the internet and other technologies. However, as my recent post on Chinese censorship points out, the decentralization of the internet doesn't mean that control isn't possible.

In recent days the Tibetan minority in China has been the subject of a massive censorship effort by the Chinese authorities. For one, YouTube is blocked. Now, Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon is reporting via numerous sources of the common sentiment throughout China that the Tibetans are "ungrateful minorities" who are without legitimate causes for complaints.

The filtered text messages from Tibet, shut down chat rooms and blocked images are all misuses of technologies if you care about access to information, political plurality and freedom of speech. Davesgonechina is calling for those who care about these concepts to engage Chinese citizens via the internet. Perhaps it is the only way we can change China - from within.

Is the DMCA Still Relevant?

Over at Info/Law Tim Armstrong wonders whether or not the DMCA is still relevant. His key historical analogy is to 1992 Audio Home Recording Act whose provisions drove the DAT format into obscurity. Today, though the AHRA is still a valid law, it holds little power because DAT is dead.

Armstrong thinks that the DMCA may be heading the way of the AHRA because (1) DMCA-related cases are decreasing in frequency, (2) DRM has been (rightly) vilified and (3) DRM is being dropped by a number of industries.

I think he may be right noting that Section 1201 of the DMCA has diminished importance. After all, §1201 what written to stop users from circumventing DRM and as DRM goes to the grave, it will be of little importance.

However, I think he misses two important points: the historical significance of §1201 and the continuing significance of the rest of the DMCA.

For the past decade, content has been sold which is locked into proprietary formats by DRM. Future users will be breaking the law if they have to unlock the content to use in future machines. Just look at HD-DVD and Blu-Ray - consumers stuck with HD-DVDs and players now have soon-to-be useless pieces of plastic because they chose the losing side in the proprietary format war. If, like the AHRA, the DMCA stays on the books, freeing DRM'd material will still be illegal.

Secondly, the DMCA is much more than just §1201. For example, Section 512 forces internet service providers to remove any offending material if they are notified by copyright owners. In the past, this notice and takedown provision has been used to silence critics as reported here and fought by the EFF. Even if portions of the DMCA lapse into obscurity, it remains a potent law with chilling effects.

Clay Shirky on Love and Longevity

Amazing (short) video by Clay Shirky who has a new book.

The Great Firewall of China

The Atlantic has a great story clearing up a lot of the misconceptions about the Chinese government's internet censoring efforts. The net has been heralded as a tool for freedom of speech and expression, yet censoring and filtering has been rampant in countries like China, Saudi Arabia and Singapore. The OpenNet Initiative covers many of these efforts.

Anyways, The Atlantic's story says that the Chinese effort is much more complicated and less effective than presumed. In effect, what the authorities have done is introduce a surmountable barrier which serves to focus the Chinese in on themselves:

All the technology employed by the Golden Shield, all the marvelous mirrors that help build the Great Firewall—these and other modern achievements matter mainly for an old-fashioned and pre-technological reason. By making the search for external information a nuisance, they drive Chinese people back to an environment in which familiar tools of social control come into play.

Comcast's Revolting Tactics

Yesterday a really important meeting was held at Harvard to discuss net neutrality. Among the speakers were FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, US Rep. Markey, Yochai Benkler and David Cohen, EVP of Comcast.

Comcast's throttling of BitTorrent traffic was the impetus for this meeting and they were obviously under fire from a lot of powerful critics. At this open meeting, Comcast did something so despicable that I would cancel any money I pay them, did I actually pay them for anything.

After rumors swirled throughout the meeting that Comcast had paid disinterested people as seat-fillers, they finally came out an confirmed that, in fact, they did. Truly interested individuals were blocked from entering as these paid seat-warmers slept through the important meeting. See here and here.

Head over here to contact Comcast and let them know how ridiculous their tactics are.

Draft Lessig

Lawrence Lessig is my intellectual hero. His books opened my eyes to this topic of copyright reform and have shaped my interests for the past 4 years. Last year, he announced that he would be shifting his focus of study away from copyright to political corruption. This was a great loss for the community, but terribly important for the country.

Now, following the death of Lessig's Congressman Tom Lantos, a movement has started to "Draft Lessig" into the special election being held April 8th. The Facebook group already has 1,000 members.

In an age when Congress is making wrongheaded decisions involving Constitutional matters, it is of the utmost importance to have someone of Lessig's intellect, honesty and knowledge in Congress. Let's hope he runs.

Meanwhile Across the Pond

The Guardian reports that in the UK,

"The government has devised an electronic database to track every teenager from the age of 14, recording their personal details, every exam result and exclusions. The database will be accessible to employers, teachers and training agencies, and will include an online CV. The record will be permanent."

Obviously this is contingent to their ability to gather that information. Luckily most of it is already given to the government and that which isn't, I'm sure their US colleagues would love to give it to them.

So much for youthful indiscretion remaining in youth...

The Senate Surrenders Its Duty to America

I think now, after the Senate has voted to immunize the telecom companies from judiciary oversight, is the time to recall the words of Yale Law Professor Jack Balkin:

"Do not be mistaken: We are not hurtling toward the Gulag or anything that we have seen before. It will be nothing so dramatic as that. Rather, we are slowly inching, through each act of fear mongering and fecklessness, pandering and political compromise, toward a world in which Americans have increasingly little say over how they are actually governed, and increasingly little control over how the government collects information on them to regulate and control them. Slowly, secretly and imperceptibly, the mechanisms of government surveillance are being freed from methods of political control and accountability; and the liberties of ordinary citizens are being surgically removed under a potent anesthesia concocted from propaganda, fear, ignorance and apathy."