Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Is it Terrible...

...that when I hear about China, North Korea or Iran clamping down on the internet and blocking certain internet pages, my immediate reaction is not "Woe, woe for free speech!" but "Hurray, hurray for national sovereignty!".

My immediate reaction, mind. On reflection, I admit that such tight regulation is contrary to freedom of speech, which is precious (but not sacred), and therefore a Bad Thing.

Still, I can't help feeling a certain dread of the borderless, mercurial, irrepressible influence of the internet, and a certain sympathy for authorities that wish to contain it.

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