May, 2009

Ten Years of Code: Best of the Blogs

Here are some of the most thought-provoking reactions to the debate at Cato Unbound this month.
David Post at the Volokh Conspiracy writes,

Code’s a very important book, in my view (and, I think, objectively speaking, in the view of pretty much everyone involved in thinking about law and regulation on the Net). Lessig got a lot [...]

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Code and Common Causes

by Lawrence Lessig
The Conversation
May 14th, 2009

“Ideologue”: Adam is right. That was a poorly defined word. What I meant it to mean was one who lets a conclusion cloud understanding. I don’t mean that I (or anyone) makes judgments from a value neutral space. Of course we have values. But I do mean that even if we disagree about some things, [...]

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Our Conflict of Cyber-Visions

by Adam Thierer
The Conversation
May 14th, 2009

In his response to my critique of Code, Prof. Lessig attacks my reasoning on two primary grounds:
(1) First, he implies that I somehow fail to comprehend Code’s central thesis that (a) “more than law regulates” and that (b) “those who controlled much of the code… had plenty of reasons to change that code in [...]

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Continuing the Work of Code

by Lawrence Lessig
Reaction Essay
May 11th, 2009

Lawrence Lessig is happy that many of the bleaker predictions of Code have not come to pass. This is not to be taken, however, as a sign that freedom is easily gained or kept. It took an enormous amount of work on the part of many theorists, activists, coders, and lawyers to preserve liberty on the Internet. If Code looks wrong in hindsight, we have them to thank. Yet new threats loom large today, and Lessig in particular praises Jonathan Zittrain’s The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It as a warning to a new generation seeking to preserve liberty on the Internet. Future activists will have to continue the work of preserving freedom, because, he concludes, democratic government often isn’t up to the task.

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