[governance] Example of Corporate Internet Authoritarianism -

[William Drake]

Hi Michael,

On Nov 25, 2009, at 6:50 PM, Michael Gurstein wrote:

> I think that Bill's casual dismissal of this issue is not appropriate.

There's a difference between disagreeing with something and being inappropriate.
> 
> The logic here is surely the same as the overall logic of a "Right to the
> Internet" (remembering that I claim no expertise in the domain of discussion
> around "Rights"... 

Really?  "Right to the Internet" is the same as declaring any company that doesn't sell a product in a given country to be "authoritarian."?  Sorry, but this strikes me as fuzzy logic, and not the computer science kind.

It used to be that when a transnational firm entered a developing country's market folks of certain persuasions would decry this as imperialist etc.  But now if a firm does not enter a market we can also call them names normally associated with governments that brutalize their populations to retain political power?  Maybe you should notify all the groups working against WTO agreements etc that they have it backwards and are promoting authoritarianism, whereas what they really should be doing is demanding that every company everywhere be required to sell everything everywhere else.  

Fouad says Amazon is authoritarian because it "dictates who buys or isn't allowed to buy from its website;" presumably, this would apply to other companies and distribution channels as well.  Let's leave aside the many reasons why a company might not serve a given market---costs, level of effective demand, distribution, local partner requirements, regulatory/policy uncertainty/unfavorability, the prospects of fraud (as Carlton notes), etc etc---since I guess normal business considerations don't matter.  All that does by Fouad's standard is can I buy what I want, and if not, they're equivalent with, say, the Burmese junta.

I can't get real Mexican food at Geneva grocery stores.  I couldn't buy a Coke at the Sharm airport, only Pepsi.  I can't watch most US TV shows over the net in Switzerland.  I can't see most non-Hollywood US films, e.g. indies, at Geneva movie theaters.  But I want these things. So am I a victim of authoritarianism?  

I'm sorry to hear that Kindle for PC is not currently available in Pakistan.  Perhaps it would make sense to actually find out why this is so and see if anything can be done to encourage change?  Might be more productive than misplaced sloganeering.

Best,

Bill



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