Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 30 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H4'ed 3/30/23

The Internet Needs a Country of Its Very Own

By       (Page 1 of 1 pages)   No comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Thomas Knapp

FixedBroadbandInternetPenetrat ionWorldMap.svg.
FixedBroadbandInternetPenetrat ionWorldMap.svg.
(Image by Wikipedia (commons.wikimedia.org), Author: Author Not Given)
  Details   Source   DMCA
h 23, Axios reports, Utah governor Spencer Cox signed two bills "aimed at limiting when and where anyone younger than 18 years old can interact online, and to stop companies from luring minors to certain websites."

The laws require social media companies to "instate a curfew for minors in the state, barring them from using their accounts from 10:30pm to 6:30am" and "to give a parent or guardian access to their child's accounts."

Even ignoring the blatant unconstitutionality of both laws -- both vis a vis the First Amendment and the reservation of the power to regulate interstate commerce to Congress, not state legislatures -- making it likely they'll be quashed in court, I have to wonder just how Utah's Division of Consumer Protection intends to enforce these incredibly dumb ideas.

The bills are titled "Social Media Regulation Amendments," but if Utah has truth in advertising laws they really should be titled "Amendments to Encourage Minors to Lie About Their Age and Learn to Use Virtual Private Networks to Hide Their Locations," which pretty much describes the effect they'll have if there's any real attempt to enforce them.

Unfortunately, Congress also seems to be tip-toeing through the tulips of "social media regulation" in similar ways, from prospective app bans (if you think a successful TikTok ban would be the last such action, think again) to various measures for suppressing "disinformation" (read: Stuff politicians don't want you to see).

And it's not just an American thing. Globally, various regimes (including supposed "democracies" like India) increasingly arrogate to themselves the power to just shut down the Internet any time they find public communication inconvenient.

While there are workarounds for all this nonsense, and while each such episode encourages more people to learn about those workarounds, what the Internet really needs is a country of its very own.

It doesn't necessarily have to be a NEW country. Any existing regime with robust telecommunications capabilities -- perhaps a Caribbean or Pacific island nation? -- will do, if it's willing to put enforceable "separation of Internet and state" provisions in its constitution, set a nice low tax rate, and watch the revenues roll in as existing tech giants and ambitious start-ups abandon nosier and costlier jurisdictions (and those jurisdictions' regulations).

Users would take care of the rest.

Short of shutting down Internet access entirely -- and likely finding themselves overthrown -- the busybodies couldn't do much about it.

Get this done, Big Tech.

Rate It | View Ratings

Thomas Knapp Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Thomas L. Knapp is director and senior news analyst at the William Lloyd Garrison Center for Libertarian Advocacy Journalism (thegarrisoncenter.org). He lives and works in north central Florida.


Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

2020: I'm So Sick of Superlatives

America Doesn't Have Presidential Debates, But It Should

Hypocrisy Alert: Republicans Agreed with Ocasio-Cortez Until About One Minute Ago

Chickenhawk Donald: A Complete and Total Disgrace

The Nunes Memo Only Partially "Vindicates" Trump, But it Fully Indicts the FBI and the FISA Court

Finally, Evidence of Russian Election Meddling ... Oh, Wait

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend