We all know that the Internet emanates in thick syrupy waves from Al Gore's semi-apocalyptic pleasure palace on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. Is it because of this that the world tends to follow the USA's lead in matters of electronic communication legislation? Some credit may also go to their tendency to kidnap, drug and brainwash foreign heads of state in the sweet way that they do. In either case, the now-usual European response to seemingly perverse judiciary decisions regarding the future of Old Man Internet may be inappropriate. Perhaps we should put down the buttery popcorn and soda pop and pay closer attention, since this may also be our future they are fitfully deciding.
From amongst increasingly bizarre news snippets (have fun trying to distinguish fact from fiction) there occasionally spring a few bright rays of hope. After the epic de-pantsing of HBGary by hippy-anarcho-terrorist cyber-demagogues Anonymous, it is clear that someone out there in Washington has been listening. Unfortunately the domain of the proposed federal investigation is such as it is because someone out there in Washington had been hiring HBGary in the first place, dirty deeds doubtless not done dirt cheap. But it has all worked out good in the end, right?
American telco giant AT&T were also under scrutiny this month, immunity from Freedom of Information Act requests denied by the supreme court. Once again the shine is taken off somewhat, this time by this week's revelation that AT&T were also complicit in the NSA's attempts to spy on everyone everywhere whilst simultaneously hosing users' private Facebook data all over central and eastern Asia, but... well, I mean, at least it's not as if they are cutting throats left right and centre on the way to becoming the single most powerful mobile carrier in the whole of North America. Are they? Of course they are.
Sometimes the Atlantic seems not very wide at all.
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