NEWS
As broadband spreads, traditional broadcasting and new media are converging - but businesses and regulators are still divided over the future of internet regulation.
Google's Rachel Whetstone questioned if there was really any need to regulate the web at all during the Oxford Media Convention yesterday. The event saw media company execs gathering to discuss issues such as how to deal with new technology and the digital switchover.
The director of corporate communications and public affairs at Google Europe said: "What's broken that needs to be fixed?"
Whetstone said the internet has made information, once only available to the elite, open to everyone. She said regulation would damage this and emphasised the success the internet has had without regulation.
One advocate of policing the net, in some form at least, is Martin Goswami, chief executive of digital on-demand content provider, Aggregator.
He said the dividing line between the PC and television is disappearing and so regulation applied to television should also cover internet content. There should be "the same rules with everybody", he said.
Broadband from A to Z
Click on the links below to find out more...
A is for ADSL
B is for BT
C is for Cable & Wireless
D is for Dial-up
E is for Education
F is for Fibre
G is for Goonhilly
H is for HSDPA
I is for In-flight
J is for Janet
K is for Kingston
L is for Landlines
M is for Murdoch
N is for Next generation
O is for Ofcom
P is for Power lines
Q is for Quad-play
R is for Remote working
S is for Satellite phones
T is for Trains
U is for Unbundling
V is for VoIP
W is for WiMax
X is for Xbox
Y is for YouTube
Z is for Zombies
Tom Loosemore, project director of the BBC 2.0 initiative also warned of the difficulties and risks in regulating the web.
He said the internet was originally intended to be open, democratic and transparent by its creators. It should not become a closed network but should instead be able to regulate itself, he argued.
But he added the issue of regulating cyberspace is "much bigger than the BBC, much bigger than broadcast". "The internet is a remarkable and very fragile thing," he said.
Earlier in the day Ofcom CEO, Ed Richards, outlined the need for regulation to evolve as the UK rapidly moves towards a completely digital broadcast media in 2012.
He said Ofcom needs to be "responsive to the needs of the audience of this century and not the last".
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. dave beall
The Answer is NO, NO, NO.
The Lawmakers of different nations have proven through history that they are irresponsible, and cannot do things right at all. Just look at how screwed up the US government is.
WE have Iacon or what ever that is for the domain names and they are in contraversy.
We have w3C for the technology involved in display and structure.
We have copywrite laws that are antiquated at best.
When you add regulations motivated by greed and communism, or imperialism, take your pick. You get an Internet that none of us will want.
The internet is to benifit all people in the world, not just a chosen few.
2. Ian Savell
The Internet is the only truly democratic institution left in the world. We regulate it at our peril.
The "undesirable" things that make people call for regulation are trivial compared to the huge benefits of an open, unregulated internet. I'm sure that at the root of a lot of regulation suggestions is one of two propositions:
1. Hey, this thing is amazingly popular and it's free! How can we squeeze more money out of people using it?
2. Hey, this thing is amazingly popular and its users don't like us! How can we stop people finding out the truth?
Once you put in place the means to regulate the Internet politics and money interests will use that regulation for their own ends. The Internet is ours, hands off!
3. Chris Goodman
WHY should the internet be regulated? Regulation as needed can well be carried out under (uk) existing legislation concerning pornography, racial incitement, etc. although some parts may need boosting up.
The question of regulation of the internet is not just a matter of should it be regulated, it is a question of WHO should be empowered to regulate it, it is a question of WHAT content they should be able to regulate, it is a question of WHO decides WHAT the regulators regulate.
And even more important is who REGULATES the REGULATORS to avoid any form of political, religious or commercial censorship.
It would need to be completely free of political control or influence and be staffed by no one who has ever held an elected public office or appointments in such bodies as the UN or EU.
The internet is too big
4. Charles Wood
Regulating the net, it is a bit like suggesting snakes eat their tails!!
It is impossible to do even if governments want to, and they do.
Why is it that there is always someone out there that thinks they know better then myself about what I want to do and how I want to do it. I CHOOSE what I want to look at, and I don't have to if I don't like it.
Why don't we all stick to standard layouts that everyone can access, with regulation fonts and access for the disabled...because such things are not always applicable to everyone, so why impose it on us all?
And it would be boring.
Like governments.
5. galley slave#41
Regulation will turn many users who are now free sprits into criminals at the whim of some politico- regulator.
The net does not belong to anybody it is free and will as always control itself.
We must resist all interference from those who would control under any guise moral or financial.
6. www.scottwebb.co.uk
The mainstream media is losing out as people wake up to the real world and who runs it. The Corporations are not happy about losing control of information and what people get to hear and see.
TV is dying along with our trust in those we THOUGHT were looking after OUR interests :)
7. anonymous
No. Ten years ago next month, John Perry Barlow penned "A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace" and his words still resonate:
http://web.missouri.edu/~rhetnet/barlow/barlow_declaration.html
8. William Crimson
The internet is the only true place where freedom can be expressed. Regulations would limit our ability to freely express ourselves.
9. anonymous
If the Internet is regulated completely by any agency, it is no longer desirable; privacy is obliterated. If, however, the Internet is not regulated at all, there is no freedom from unwanted activity that is detrimental to both younger and older people alike. The worst place to be is out on a limb in either direction, but to stay close to middle ground, where the strength of the root is beneath us.