[Forwarded with permission. --Declan] -------- Original Message -------- Subject: getting a reader pointed in the right direction Date: Thu, 9 Jun 2005 10:42:46 -0500 From: Andrew Harrison <andrewh@private> To: Declan McCullagh <declan@private> Declan, I've been reading Politech since I was 15, but never guessed I'd have any reason to email you. Unfortunately, this isn't news but a request for a small favor. I'm a rising junior at Rice University in Texas interested in writing a political critique. Specifically, I'd like to address the nature and implications of government intervention in emerging technology. After meditating on many of the Politech posts that have made my hair stand on end, I began to wonder what precedents exist for the US government's style of information control. Censorship has been thriving for a while, as has registering and tracking citizens, but another style of information control may not have had a strong presence since the Church's quarrel with Galileo: control of the means of progress. The modern US government draws a significant amount of political strength from its role of gatekeeper. Intellectual property rights cases, collaboration between the MPAA and the government, and legislation such as the DMCA have all been Politech topics that indicate a trend; whenever a *new* technology arises in the general population, the government quickly assumes a responsibility for controlling it in some way -- all too often deeming it dangerous and banning its use or providing constraints for citizens. Conversely, there's rarely such a hue and cry in the government channels about technologies initiated from within the government itself. If you know of any writings offhand that relate to this topic, or anyone that has interest in such a topic, please point me in that direction. Since your time is at a premium, whatever assistance you can offer would be welcomed gladly. Keep up the incredible work! ================================= andrew harrison rice philharmonics: business mgr. x1401 / cell 601.201.7777 rm 112 old hanszen open door. open mind. open heart. _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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