Opinion
Witha flip of a switch and the flex of a wrist, we can launch ourselves into a world where information flows freely without cards or passwords or even humans to hinder our progress.
That world is the Internet, a world were there is a relatively free exchange of information that has allowed for the rapid expansion of communication in the academic and corporate worlds alike.
It should come as no surprise that government wants to regulate it.
A new Senate bill plans the regulation of the Internet through continuation of the Federal Communications Commission's powers to decide what forms of telecommunication powers are in the "public interest."
In other words, the Senate wants to fine people huge sums of money for selling pornography on the Internet, despite the fact that the FCC has been more than lax in its previous attempts to enforce purity -- prostitutes have used phone and radio to solicit clients for years.
I believe this bill is less an attempt to save the impressionable youth of America than an attempt to get a federal handle on what is becoming one of the most vital sources of communication and commerce.
Thankfully, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, much to the chagrin of some Senate Republicans, objected to the bill on the grounds of free speech.