Much of our class has touched upon communication ownership. From the telegraph to the radiowave we have read and discussed government and private sector control over these society-changing technologies. We have also frequently compared China’s authoritarian regulation over the Internet against the US’ liberal Internet policies. However, as noted in this NY Times Op-Ed, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/16/opinion/firewall-law-could-infringe-on-free-speech.html?_r=2&smid=fb-nytimes&WT.mc_id=OP-E-FB-SM-LIN-SGF-111611-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click, the Protect IP Act has been introduced in the Senate and a similar bill known as, Stop Online Piracy Act, in the House both of which propose regulations that would have effects on Internet users similar to those experienced by Chinese citizens.
As noted in the Mattelart reading, “’The mysterious magic of being able, with a simple click of a mouse, to send a full length movie hurtling with the speed of light to any part of the planet, is a marketing dream and an anti-piracy nightmare.” These two bills seek to contain intellectual property, which is reasonable, yet at the expense of “democratic discourse” at home and abroad.
However, it is this writer’s opinion that the government should concentrate efforts on further strengthening its bill on patents which would support those producers of “intellectual property” to create. Why don’t we concentrate on displacing “patent trolls” which would encourage innovation rather than infringing the communication of its citizens which could also stifle these same producers access to creative, knowledge, information flows?
- Claire
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