In related news, here's an "opinion" of Sony's CEO on
how the internet is a force for evil, suggesting that the entire internet should be "guard-railed" in order to "make sure" that Sony's (cum suis) rights aren't infringed. Apparently all internet users are criminals who - in the USA, as I understand it - have
no right to vote, so our rights as citizens count for, and
are worth far less than the rights of a few corporations.
Quote:
[...]And my point is this: the major content businesses of the world and the most talented creators of that content -- music, newspapers, movies and books -- have all been seriously harmed by the Internet.
In no other realm of our society have we encountered so widespread and consequential a failure to put in place guidelines over the use and growth of such a major industry.
[...]
I'm not talking here about censorship, taxation or burdensome government restrictions. I'm talking about reasonable boundaries, "rules of the road," that can help promote the many positive attributes of Internet technology while curtailing its hugely damaging effects.
Internet users have become used to getting things when they want it and how they want it, and those of us in the entertainment business want to meet that kind of demand as efficiently and effectively as possible. But what has happened online is that if it is 'beyond store hours' and the shop is closed, a lot of people just smash the window and steal what they want. Freedom without restraint is chaos, and if we don't figure out some way to prevent online chaos, the quantity, quality and availability of the kinds of entertainment, literature, art and scholarship we need to have a healthy, vibrant culture will suffer.[emphases mine]
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Also, ignoring the large number of fallacies and false dichotomies in this article, I'm having quite a bit of trouble reconciling "vibrant/innovative cultural expression" with the 99% factory-produced tripe that is being put out these days.
Edit: An odd thought: Does this guy only consider current, under copyright "culture" worthwhile? It would seem that anything in the PD according to him is automatically irrelevant.