I remember how in the 90's, when the internet just started to gain popularity, there was this new feeling in the air. Everyone felt like the world as we know it is going to change, and that borders and physical location are going to become meaningless. The Global Village, they called it. No matter where you are, anything and everything would be just a mouse-click away, since it's all going to be online.
For some time it really seemed like it's going in that direction. Information became accessible worldwide and international contacts became easy to maintain. Suddenly, instead of interacting with the people who lived near you, you could interact with people like you even if they were on the other side of the world.
But this giant leap seems to be slowing down now, if not taking a completely different direction. When information started flowing so easily across borders, it was clear that intellectual property (IP) rules would have to change. IP law can only be enforced where it applies and where there are means to enforce it. That means that if something (let's say, sharing media files) is illegal in Country A and legal in Country B, media that flows from Country A to Country B is lost to it's owners in Country A, in the sense that they can no longer earn money from their property in Country B. More importantly, even if sharing media files is illegal in Country B, if the media's owner is located in Country A, and Country B is on the other side of the world, it might be too expensive for the media's owner to sue in Country B, and useless for it to sue in Country A.
This problem in enforceability had to be resolved in some way, and such a way did come up. More and more online media is now free to use, while it is sponsored by commercials. So if media is free, there's less insentive for people to download illegally, and the media owner is making its profits of commercials. This model was adopted by many, such as Hulu, ABC.com, Fox.com, and Pandora, which all offer free media in return for the small burden of watching/listening to a commercial or two. I think that's great. In a sense, I find it to be the most social solution, since in a way it makes the rich sponsor the poor's needs.
The problem with this solution, however, is that it made free media accessible only where the sponsors have an interest in advertising. This is why Pandora, which used to be free to use world wide, is now accessible only with U.S. IP addresses. If you are located somewhere else in the world, you're blocked. No one's paying for your use of media, so you're out of the game. Most websites don't even allow these 'international' users to pay for their media. They are either forced to give up what they want, find the same thing off the internet (on CD's, DVD's and such), or download illegally. Even iTunes wouldn't sell for people outside the countries Apple feels comfortable engaging in electronic business in.
So only ten years after the big promise of the global village, the old order is slowly being restored, with the assistance of IP law and enforcement. The countries that produce the media are the countries that use it. Users who have the misfortune of living in countries who are traditionally buyers of international merchandise are forced into their old role as inactive, powerless, paying consumers. If this is the way we're headed, the 15 years or so in which the internet really had no boundaries would be just like the 60's free love - a sweet sweet dream.
For some time it really seemed like it's going in that direction. Information became accessible worldwide and international contacts became easy to maintain. Suddenly, instead of interacting with the people who lived near you, you could interact with people like you even if they were on the other side of the world.
But this giant leap seems to be slowing down now, if not taking a completely different direction. When information started flowing so easily across borders, it was clear that intellectual property (IP) rules would have to change. IP law can only be enforced where it applies and where there are means to enforce it. That means that if something (let's say, sharing media files) is illegal in Country A and legal in Country B, media that flows from Country A to Country B is lost to it's owners in Country A, in the sense that they can no longer earn money from their property in Country B. More importantly, even if sharing media files is illegal in Country B, if the media's owner is located in Country A, and Country B is on the other side of the world, it might be too expensive for the media's owner to sue in Country B, and useless for it to sue in Country A.
This problem in enforceability had to be resolved in some way, and such a way did come up. More and more online media is now free to use, while it is sponsored by commercials. So if media is free, there's less insentive for people to download illegally, and the media owner is making its profits of commercials. This model was adopted by many, such as Hulu, ABC.com, Fox.com, and Pandora, which all offer free media in return for the small burden of watching/listening to a commercial or two. I think that's great. In a sense, I find it to be the most social solution, since in a way it makes the rich sponsor the poor's needs.
The problem with this solution, however, is that it made free media accessible only where the sponsors have an interest in advertising. This is why Pandora, which used to be free to use world wide, is now accessible only with U.S. IP addresses. If you are located somewhere else in the world, you're blocked. No one's paying for your use of media, so you're out of the game. Most websites don't even allow these 'international' users to pay for their media. They are either forced to give up what they want, find the same thing off the internet (on CD's, DVD's and such), or download illegally. Even iTunes wouldn't sell for people outside the countries Apple feels comfortable engaging in electronic business in.
So only ten years after the big promise of the global village, the old order is slowly being restored, with the assistance of IP law and enforcement. The countries that produce the media are the countries that use it. Users who have the misfortune of living in countries who are traditionally buyers of international merchandise are forced into their old role as inactive, powerless, paying consumers. If this is the way we're headed, the 15 years or so in which the internet really had no boundaries would be just like the 60's free love - a sweet sweet dream.
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