[governance] FW: TP: city government exercising policy on Google Applications / consumer rights / Consumer Protection Act / trial period

[Daniel Kalchev]

On 12.07.11 14:12, Paul Lehto wrote:
> Applied to the internet, the metaphor of parasitism can have more
> power than it deserves.  When users get accustomed to "free" internet
> access they may start to erroneously believe that the internet happens
> without government services in the form of telecommunications
> infrastructure, legal infrastructure and so forth, and therefore
> mistakenly oppose proposals to secure continued support for these
> things to keep the internet well.
>
Internet has happened and was successful decades ago, only because it is 
the largest independently owned PRIVATE network of networks in the 
world. Nobody own the Internet. Many own small parts of it. Governments 
resisted Internet for many, many years, throwing large amounts of money 
and political pressure as a means to stop it's development.

This world has seen enough failed 'telecomunications infrastructure' 
attempts. Internet is what it is because it is not that. The day it 
becomes part of the taxation scheme and therefore strictly regulated 
will be the day Internet will die and be replaces with the next 
multi-stakeholder private network. Internet by itself is free, because 
those who built it and operate it wish so. In most countries the 
government cannot steal private property with ease.

If we talk about providing services based on Internet and taxing these 
services, that is something completely different. It is more related 
with trade practices (and taxation). The existing model is way outdated 
and needs replacement. The same could be said for the copyright 
practices etc.

Daniel
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