Re: Regulation

[thomst@netcom.com (Thom Stark)]

Wallace Koehler asked the musical question:

> Does anybody on this listserv really believe that the Internet can remain
> relatively unregulated? In any of the 3 kingdoms? Does Sen. Exon ring a bell?

In the long run, no.

In the short run, you bet.

I believe that it comes down to a question of jurisdiction.  Although
various countries ALREADY exert regulatory control over sections of the
Internet which lie within their national boundaries, (c.f. - Singapore,
China, et al,) no single country exerts such control over the Internet
as a global entity (with the exception of NSI's control over the name
space as granted by the NSF).  I don't expect this situation to change
until the countries of the world decide to create a agency with a 
specific mandate to regulate the Internet.  And I don't expect THAT
until we're a good deal closer to a single world government.

FWIW (For What It's Worth)

Regards,

Thom Stark

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