Here they come to save the day!
By laglen
@laglen (19759)
United States
December 19, 2010 6:43pm CST
Yes! It is the UN. They are looking at forming a working group to regulate the internet. This will protect us all from such sites as Wikileaks.
http://thelostagency.wordpress.com/2010/12/18/un-regulate-the-internet-2455529/
Do you see Draconian censorship coming? Or do you say thank goodness they are here to protect us?
8 responses
@asyria51 (2861)
• United States
20 Dec 10
I am an adult, I can make my own decisions about what i am going to read or look at on the internet. I have a child, and my computer has child controls, so in the future i can control what she looks at.
I really do not need a panel of people protecting me from me. I am a big girl, and I have my big girl pants on.
1 person likes this
@asyria51 (2861)
• United States
20 Dec 10
I have been a little put out by my school's webfilter, so any hint of censorship is getting to me. I could understand if I was using a general computer that kids could get on and see, filtering sites like this, but in my office, where the computer is set to automatically lock after 3 minutes of no use, it bugs me. In fact several of the teacher sites that I have memberships to, to help me plan and gain more knowledge are blocked.
1 person likes this
@webearn99 (1742)
• India
20 Dec 10
Any good thing needs regulation. Internet traffic just like Road traffic needs to be regulated to protect us from undesirable content. While Wikileaks affair is a journalistic victory, administrations worldwide have lost a lot of ground in the cloak and dagger stuff. "The enemy should not know what we know" kind. This is seen as a security risk and that is of concern. No individual or system should be above law.
1 person likes this
@laglen (19759)
• United States
21 Dec 10
I agree no individual or system should be above the law, but it is happening all of the time.
Regarding undesirable content - who should decide that? Why cant we decide what is desirable or not? I am sure I like things you dont and you like things I dont. I dont like sports, so lets take that off.....
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
23 Dec 10
webearn9,
The point is that the U.N. doesn't have any authority over U.S. citizens or our information flow. Not even our own government has the authority to censor our information..why the hell would we stand for a foreign body trying to do it.
@webearn99 (1742)
• India
23 Dec 10
The united Nations has and does exercise authority over member states. Usually it is by the consent and consensus of member states that this happens. Economic sanctions over some countries is an example. There have been military interventions.
As for the need for regulation, it is the political "Privacy" of information which is being regulated. It is a fact that nations spy on each other. No nation trusts another 100%. This spy information leaked can cause embarrassment to a country at the best. There have been some red faces in the US administration because of wikileaks. At the worst, it can lead to a war. This is what that is being sought to avoid. As a member country, US administration can (as history shows) try and impose its will. Ultimately it will have to give-in and accept the world body's regulations. If a country accepts UN mandate, its citizens have no choice but to accept.
If some information is termed "Classified" or "Private", Publishing it is against law. I would do anything within law to prevent my privacy being violated. "Freedom" of press or of information is not valid if my privacy is breached. UN is only institution spread world wide and can do it if the member states desire it.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
26 Dec 10
i say thanks,wikileaks dude,you gave them the excuse they were looking for.
draconian?yup yup.
they can use the "national security" excuse for anything nowadays.
1 person likes this
@xfahctor (14118)
• Lancaster, New Hampshire
23 Dec 10
I would seriously like to see them try. Not many here are going to recognize any authority the U.N. may think it has over us. Here's hoping we have a few unused drones at a base in NY somewhere...I'm sure downtown NY could use another parking space.
1 person likes this
@laglen (19759)
• United States
6 Feb 11
x, I am sorry, I missed the replies a while back. so I apologize for the late response.
I feel safe in saying that most of Americans would be perfectly content in distancing ourselves from the UN. It has gotten "too big for its britches". The worlds ways are not ours.
@dark_joev (3034)
• United States
20 Dec 10
I hope it fails. As the Internet is an Open Source platform not a closed source where people can own it the Internet is just their we shouldn't try to censor it. The whole point of the internet which is the free exchange of info and goods would be destroyed.
1 person likes this
@lovinangelsinstead21 (36850)
• Pamplona, Spain
6 Feb 11
Hiya laglen,
Internet should be free and for everyone like it was meant to be. I don´t feel like I need to be protected from Wikileaks or anything. Surely we have our own mind to decide what we think about those kind of goings on.
A lot of People can get information on the Internet that they would not be able to get anywhere else because of various problems.
Internet is a Godsend whichever way they want to look at it. This should not be controlled by a "Few".
Heaven forbid that it ever happens.
@RebeccaScarlett (2532)
• Canada
20 Dec 10
Oh yes, the organization which is slowly being taken over by fundamentalist countries who are denying seats on councils to countries that compete with them for main exports is going to "save" us all.
The U.N. is a complete joke. They are basically one giant conflict of interest. Member countries don't want the public to know that they bomb each other and blame it on the U.S.
1 person likes this
@LilPixelle (828)
• United States
20 Dec 10
Hummm... Even if they succeeded in making such a group... technically we could make a new internet. Not that it would be easy. But we could. The internet is just linking a bunch of computer and servers throughout the world. There are fiber optic cables under the oceans that need to be regularly repaired... and Hubs in different parts of the country/world that the information passes through. We could make a small scale internet just in different major cities and then start linking them together to other city's networks. And then expand from there.
Though... would the UN have a say in that system too?
1 person likes this
@matersfish (6306)
• United States
20 Dec 10
It's Sunday, the Raiders won, I'm in a good mood, so wtf.
Down with these maroons
1 person likes this
