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With respect, "The Internet" also exists beyond the borders of the United States of America, so while we outside of the US can look on at this spectacle with a
by rasur 15y ago
With respect, "The Internet" also exists beyond the borders of the United States of America, so while we outside of the US can look on at this spectacle with a mixture of amusement and dread, it's just a little galling to be told to understand something we have little control over.
I'm not meaning to sound disrespectful, I'm just trying to explain this slow-moving car-crash of a situation has effects outside of your own continent..
- waqf 15y agoFunnily enough, individual Americans also have little control over Congress. I think we're all in the same boat here (and I don't even think the article implied otherwise).
- darklajid 15y agoI think the GP refers mostly to the title. No, the 'internet' doesn't need to learn about Congress, since the internet is a world-wide thing. I won't learn about politics in the USA anytime soon (no disrespect here, it's just of no interest to me and that's how I like it), but the article addresses me too.
- brycecolquitt 15y agoI personally think that the "internet" does need to learn about Congress, or at least be aware of what is going on. ICANN controls the root DNS servers for TLDs, and before ICANN, the US government did.
- darklajid 15y ago(addressing both you and waqf, bringing up the same point: The US is in control of some nice part of the internet infrastructure): You are right, of course. That means that I care about a world-wide disruption caused by (local) laws in the US. I read about those and follow the development of these laws to a point. The article addresses the internet first (me included) and then talks about educating the US congress and throwing money at US lobbyists, while fixing the US system so that it doesn't _need_ this kind of involvement anymore. I'm sorry, but that leaves me out. - I cannot take part in the education of statesman overseas/abroad and doubt that they'd listen to me - I certainly won't (especially on an individual level, but even corporate that would be waaaay weird and wrong) throw money at lobbyists in another country - I'm not allowed to take part in the political system in the US, so I cannot realistically help with any systematic change I think while you are, as I already admitted, entirely correct about the fact that Congress might affect the whole world, the article is still wrong in calling out to 'The Internet' to fix it. The issues have to be resolved locally. My way of influencing it _might_ be voting for a party that wants to wrangle for informational freedom in the EU and more independence from the US, but that's about it.
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- waqf 15y agoThe article addresses you advisedly. Unfair as it may seem, Congress has the potential to screw up the internet for the entire world.
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- obtu 15y agoThat problem, of educating elected officials about legislation that they could get informed about from well-funded lobbies instead, exists in pretty much every government. Educating the general population so that they care is also a good idea, everywhere. And since we know this sort of proposal has been, and will be, exported, we need the same sort of understanding of our institutions that is being promoted here.
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