The notion that the US blogosphere is going to allow the US state to require it to register certain content is something that has me wondering if some cunning conspiracy was not at work by a shadowy cabal of Good Guys (who inexplicably did not let me in on the plan) luring the enemy into a sort of virtual Teutoburger Wald by playing to hubris and Imperial overreach. These people do not really even understand what the internet is I suspect.
I can not tell you how delighted I am. When a body like the Federal Trade Commission commits itself to an unwinnable fight against an almost literally endless enemy with the ability to vanish and reappear at will, it is a clear sign that terminal stupidity has set in, which is really rather good news.
Oh and by the way, all you US based corporate drones looking for a few blog harlots to review your magic widgets in return for some free samples, there are large numbers of blogs based outside the USA with extensive US readerships who will be happy to openly invite the FTC to stick their regulations up their collectives arses… that said, US blogs who like to review products are almost certain to completely ignore the FTC, with the more nervous ones just reorganising how they do things (trivially easy: change names/host overseas) to make these absurd regulations worthless.
If you can’t get them with one agency, try another.
FTC, ICC, FCC.; or, some obscure agency left-over from
WWI, will do. Or, create a new one. Virtual stamp act?
From broadcast TV we went to subscriber TV. And, radio.
Once given-out as “free” advertising, baseball hats and shirts with corporate logos are now sold to the public, as what is left of “acceptable” social statement.
Nobody goes broke by underestimating the American
public.
Although I think a big show of ‘doing something about’ such things as blogs and talk radio (and other forms of
expressing dissent), I don’t think the effort will be earnest, until power is no longer fractioned among so
many. Once consolidated, yes.
These things are social safety valves to allow excess “steam” to be released in an observable way.
Dissent is like ‘talk therapy’ to defuse anger and divert
action. Very few people who share dissent will engage
in actions until there is no other way open to them.
Well drug war is unwinable but somehow billions are spent in it… FTC just needs something to justify an ever increasing budget.
What lucklucky said. The fact that the FTC might not achieve the goals they’ve set is a feature, not a bug. The more people that violate the rules, the more of the taxpayers’ money they can get their hands on.
Is anyone noting: Regulation of individual private activities; compulsory requirements – buy insurance, get flu shots, etc
The New Totalitarianism has risen.
I think it is not just about expanding the budget, it is about getting more useless eaters on the fed payroll. The bigger that payroll gets, and the bigger the state, county, and city payrolls get, the fewer free, thinking people there are. When The Man says, “Whose your daddy?”, half the country says, “Uncle Sam…….sigh…….”
Of course, what else CAN they do and where else can they work? They were educated in the amerikan publik skool system.
This reminds me of Glenn Beck’s point (the position he shares with Perry – AGAINST people like me).
Namely that it is a GOOD THING that Barack Obama won the election – because John McCain would have gone along with much the same things (“Mr President there is kiddie porn on the internet – please support us getting power over the internet in order to fight it, you can trust us not to misuse the power” “Of course I will support you – and the I will get middle America to support you also) and people would not have opposed the war hero and life long Republican.
But a Marxist scumbag (Barack Obama) and his Marxist friends (such as Mark Lloyd at the FCC and whoever is at the FTC) who basically start there speeches by saying “and my evil plan to destroy all freedom is……”
It is much less difficult to get opposition to such clearly totalitarian people (with the record of Marxist conference going, and political education from their mothers before they were even old enough to go to school) than it would be to get opposition to McCain and co.
Whether it is the internet community or anyone else – “Obama and co are a threat” (once the gloss wears off) is much less difficult to sell than “John McCain is a tool of the left – forget all those years being tortured by them and ….”
I still think the election of Barack Obama was a nightmare made flesh – but I have to admit that it makes the battle lines clear.
The government is out to destroy all freedom – the backgrounds and activities of the leading government people (from the President downwards) make this totally clear.
Internet people read the information – and defend themselves against attempts to control them.