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Lots of action on the Net -- but not much change

May 28, 1998

by Stewart Deck

Dyson and the cover of "Release 2.0: A Design for Living in the Digital Age"

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS (IDG) -- Esther Dyson, author of "Release 2.0" and chair of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, in a genial conversation here Thursday morning, talked about how much has happened in the 12 months since she finished writing her book, but how little anything has really changed.

The same conflicts and debates about privacy, openness and confidentiality on the internet still exist, Dyson said. However, she added, "we are beginning to learn how to deal with these issues" through private commercial initiatives and governmental prodding.

Dyson spoke about a range of topics from changes in Internet business practices to the Internet's impact on government at the International Harvard Conference on Internet & Society here. Dyson said the Internet is beginning to change the nature of business and government because it rewards responsiveness rather than rigidness.

"The nature of business and government has been to build a surplus and self-perpetuate, but the Internet fosters and rewards smaller, more fluid organizations," Dyson said. Over time, she predicted, Internet-based organizations will begin acting as governmental arms, taking on regulatory and standards-setting responsibilities.

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With talk of the Justice Department's lawsuit against Microsoft still in the conference air, Dyson spun yet another analogy to address whether the government should be in the business of balancing competition.

The federal effort is like controlling the vending machine supply. "PCs are turning into vending machines," Dyson said, "and the company that supplies the [Internet] browser will control the vending machine supply Ñ [and] what appears on the screen of the browser is vitally important." The answer isn't to break up Microsoft, she added, but to draw lines regarding the kinds of contract stipulations that can be permitted.

Dyson also cautioned those who see the Internet as a cure-all for society's ills. When an audience member asked whether the Internet could help propel popular uprisings and overthrow tyrants, Dyson said no: "As long as a government can come and shoot you, you can't jump on the Internet to freedom."