Cautionary Notes from Issues in Cyberspace

In the first two chapters, the author provides an overview but also raises some concerns and cautions about the optimal development of communication technology:
The ability to control communication channels translates into tremendous power over those who use those channels. Control can be:
* TECHNICAL: Computer code is not neutral. It enables certain activities and prevents or restricts others. (Nor is it failsafe or foolproof, as the Y2K bug -- both the hype and the reality -- showed.)
* LEGAL: Regulatory controls can come from Congress, from the executive branch (for instance, through such agencies as the FCC or FTC) and the courts. The courts, in particular, raise problems because of the lack of general public participation in the legal process.
* SOCIAL: There are a variety of aspects of this form of control, ranging from unequal access to technology ("digital divide"), to economic forces influencing technological development and use, to the degree of civic engagement with opportunities for communication, and more.
There also are concerns that two related trends -- commercialization and privatization -- will limit the potential for the free circulation of ideas in an environment that, in theory, is limitless.

(Blogs, wikis and other such forms seek to counter these trends ... though they have not yet worked out a viable long-term economic model, nor do we yet know what legal challenges may await them.)

Closing thoughts...