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China not interested in internet freedom

China not interested in internet freedom I'm not sure if Rick Steele picks his own titles or whether others do it for him. However, in the case of his Jan. 27 column, the title of his column (Why China Is Right to Ignore Intellectual Property Laws), was

I’m not sure if Rick Steele picks his own titles or whether others do it for him. However, in the case of his Jan. 27 column, the title of his column (Why China Is Right to Ignore Intellectual Property Laws), was particularly unfortunate because China not only ignores intellectual property laws but also interferes with a free Internet. China is even less interested in freedom of the Internet than it is in the protection of intellectual property rights.

Rick’s argument that the existing regime for the protection of intellectual property needs revision was better articulated in last week’s Spark, the CBC program on technology hosted by Nora Young (available in podcast).

There is no doubt that an attempt to protect intellectual property on the Internet would interfere with the free Internet we have grown to love. However, it would behoove someone to revise the existing intellectual property regime so that it can co-exist with a free Internet.

If that does not happen, someone will again attempt to impose something like SOPA or PIPA or push ahead with the European equivalent.

Steven Horn

Whitehorse