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Copyright Law and Online Freedom

Caleb McTimid | 28.07.2009 02:39 | Culture | Technology

"The world is at a crossroads. The internet and new information technologies are so powerful that no matter what we do, society will change. But the direction has not been decided ..." -- Christian Engström

The above quote is taken from an article published in the Financial Times on the 7th of July and reproduced the day after, here, on the discussion list for Union for the Public Domain [1]:

 http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/upd-discuss/2009q3/001983.html

Christian Engström, the newly elected M.E.P. for Sweden, goes on to write:

"The technology could be used to create a Big Brother society beyond our nightmares, where governments and corporations monitor every detail of our lives. In the former East Germany, the government needed tens of thousands of employees to keep track of the citizens using typewriters, pencils and index cards. Today a computer can do the same thing a million times faster, at the push of a button. There are many politicians who want to push that button.

The same technology could instead be used to create a society that embraces spontaneity, collaboration and diversity. Where the citizens are no longer passive consumers being fed information and culture
through one-way media, but are instead active participants collaborating on a journey into the future."

Interesting lyrics. I prefer the sweet dreams of Beyoncé Knowles, but in an attempt to appear unbiased, below is a link to the public domain thread in part generated by Christian Engström's musings:

 http://lists.essential.org/pipermail/upd-discuss/2009q3/thread.html

Choice quote:

"Sharing is good!" -- Richard Stallman

[1]  http://lists.essential.org/mailman/listinfo/upd-discuss

Related article:

 http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2009/07/435106.html

Caleb McTimid