So, recently, the US House of Representatives passed a bill making it possible to sentence people of convicted of computer crimes to life imprisonment.
I will never ever understand why corporations and government fail to understand the potential of the Internet as relates to their own goals, whatever those goals may be. Neither entity understands what it is that's been unleashed upon us all, and rather than try to understand it, they generally want to kill it and/or legislate it out of existence, making the free flow of information ... and all that that implies ... difficult and even criminal.
The one thing that convinces me that there is no CONSPIRACY amongst big government and big business to manipulate the masses is the fact that they haven't yet used the Internet in their alleged schemes and villanous plans to control us all. That one fact gives me hope for the future.
However, I can also envision a future wherein a rising star working for some corporation will be the apple of some executive's eye. That exec will listen to the star when the star says something like "If we kill the 'net, we can't make any money off of it. If, instead, we do (insert some radical new idea on how to attain control of the internet while making it easier than ever for the general public to entertain themselves here) we can give them their bread and their circuses and do whatever we like. We don't need to kill the Internet ... we need to use it...
...like this."
...and all that that implies.
For information on the bill that was passed in the House, see http://news.com.com/2100-1001-944057.html