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Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet

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Re: Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet

#122

Post by lovemenot »

hysan wrote: post #105

I wonder what's her stance towards the Great Firewall? This seems like the first few steps towards building something similar to it. It's quite scary to think that governments are slowly becoming more like China recently.

403 (Maydrian's Wall)

"FUD in channel - content cut off"

Re: Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet

#123

Post by corford »

lb1lf wrote: post #110
corford wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Suggest you pick one in Europe while it's still easy to do :) I think most EU countries let you apply for full citizenship after being there a while (e.g. France lets you apply after 5 yrs, less if you're married to a French national).

What about Scotland? (I am serious!) While we're veering OT fast, I really can't see Scotland staying in the Union once Brexit is complete. There's still going to be strong ties with England, given all the toing and froing over the centuries - so I'd expect it to be quite easy for someone English to stay in Scotland almost regardless of what deal is eventually cut with the rest of the EU.

Ha! Fair point. I guess Ireland is the closest cultural match today if you want a confirmed EU member state.

Re: Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet

#125

Post by mattkevan »

nebabyte wrote: post #101
mattkevan wrote: post #41

As a British citizen, this makes me sick to my stomach. However, I'm probably in the minority. A few years ago I went to a debate about the Internet and how it affects families, and it was interesting and rather scary to hear people's attitudes. It seemed that a lot of people didn't fully understand what the Internet was, asking why it didn't have a watershed [1] like TV does. Despite good arguments being put forward…

Thank you. I often find myself in subconscious denial ("oh, surely it's just a fluke and they'll get back on course soon") over news of the direction our British friends are headed, because of the self-affirming echo chamber net communities often form. I've only ever sometimes heard (but fortunately tried to keep in mind) the fact that the reason for it is that it's not seen as dystopic by the British public, and tha…

The thing is, I don't disagree with those parents' concerns. There's a lot of horrible horrible crap on the Internet, stuff that I don't want my child anywhere near. And if I wasn't tech savvy, having the government do it would probably sound like a good idea

However, enforcing a nation-state firewall which blocks stuff 'for our own good' – and records every aspect of our lives in the process – is not the right way to go about it.

Re: Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet

#127

Post by sjclemmy »

rainforest wrote: post #109
sjclemmy wrote: post #90

I am as left wing and anti-authoritarian as they come. I read the digital bit in their manifesto and I don't see what all the fuss is about. It's simply stating the laws of the land should be respected and reflected in the online landscape. What's wrong with that? Britain is a deeply divided, but pluralist country, where the majority are conservative. This is broadly in line with what I would expect that majority to…

They challenge the long-held idea that people on the internet are capable of dealing with things they don't like or the government wouldn't like them to see. They also remove the need for there to be a victim of a crime. I see a lot of discourse on the internet in the same way it happens in a pub. There are very little boundaries to the beliefs someone admits to sharing, and presence of a regulator to check that noth…

> They challenge the long-held idea that people on the internet are capable of dealing with things they don't like...

However long-held those beliefs are, they pale into insignificance in the context of the nation state. The internet is not its own realm. It exists in the context of nation states. Nation states have laws that the people of the nation should obey or suffer the consequences.

> ...the government wouldn't like them to see

Britain has a long history of authoritarianism, enacted through its class system. Successive governments promote authoritarian policies because it appeals to the conservative majority.

> They also remove the need for there to be a victim of a crime.

Could you explain what you mean by this?

> I see a lot of discourse on the internet in the same way it happens in a pub. There are very little boundaries to the beliefs someone admits to sharing, and presence of a regulator to check that nothing illegal is being discussed doesn't sit right.

I think a lot of people behave as though the discourse they engage in on social media is as if it is in the pub, but it is simply not the case. The existing laws regarding on-line communication encompass anything that is 'published' online and people do get prosecuted.

Re: Theresa May Wants To Regulate The Internet

#128

Post by sangnoir »

iDemonix wrote: post #73

The more and more Theresa May talks about the internet, the more and more I think I should start a VPN business, it's going to be a big sector in the UK once the great firewall of the UK goes live.

It is obvious to me that VPNs will also be declared illegal (for users and proprietors) in short order. This will be in addition to ISPs being asked to block VPN connections and log and report any VPN connection attempts along with the associated user account. If your organisation has a 'legitimate' requirement for using VPN, your VPN software will have to use some government-backed key escrow where they can decrypt the traffic, for "National security reasons".
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