One of the developments behind ARPANET, an early precursor of the internet we see today, was that it was a robust network that had the capability to withstand losses of large portions of the underlying networks – and this is something that still holds true today. If one backbone provider goes down, the internet does not stop – traffic is rerouted, if some part of the DNS system goes down – the system can still function. That the US government believes that it has the power to restructure the internet under the premise of protecting copyright holders is, therefore, are relatively redundant argument on a global scale.
Yes the US currently does host and control many of the internet services the world relies upon, but that is not to say that other countries could not provide similar infrastructure that could be put in place to reroute around any US technical measures that are against another country’s aims. Europe has a generally progressive and pragmatic view to data networks and could provide the infrastructure (if it can stand the current political instability), or even specific countries could step in. Iceland, for example, has developed some of the strongest journalistic shield laws in the world, and supporting an open internet outside of US oversight could further that stance.
The UN has long wanted to step in and take control of the internet from the US, as it is a global network. But the US has managed to withstand these claims on the basis that they will stay out of its governance – leaving the internet free. If the US is suddenly open to the highest bidder to interfere with the underlying internet structure, then any claim of a laissez faire attitude to its governance would now be and out-and-out lie. Even if one country doesn’t step up to provide alternative infrastructure – the UN may step in with just such a possibility with all the red-tape that infers.
If passed, SOPA will mean issues for US companies that will struggle to compete on the world stage under the regulations, and US consumers will suffer – but more importantly the US will lose one more facet of its position as the world’s superpower. Control of information is as important now as control of the sea in the 19th century and is a major source of US “soft power” – to voluntarily give away that power will demonstrate America’s inability to continue leading the world stage. They will also lose any moral superiority that they currently claim when country’s such as China or Iran censor their internet for political reasons – when you have censored the internet for money the hypocrisy will be deafening.
[image courtesy of Stephen G. Eick]