[governance] Example of Corporate Internet Authoritarianism -

[Michael Gurstein]

Hmmm....

Bill, it might have been good to have actually read what I wrote and engaged
with that rather than a straw man based on a repetition of Fuad's original
statement.

If access to the Internet is a necessary requirement for participation in an
"Information Society" then access to the tools that allow for or facilitate
the use of the Internet especially when those tools are linked into some
sort of monopolistic position with respect to the use of the Internet should
surely fall under that rubric.

I don't know the details of the case under discussion here but it would
follow that if certain information is only accessible on the Internet via a
certain tool then denial of access to that tool is the same as denial of
access to that information.

To my mind this is not a strictly commercial issue.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: William Drake [mailto:william.drake at graduateinstitute.ch] 
Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 12:18 AM
To: Michael Gurstein
Cc: governance at lists.cpsr.org; 'Fouad Bajwa'
Subject: Re: [governance] Example of Corporate Internet Authoritarianism -


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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