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 [...]

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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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Code, Pessimism, and the Illusion of “Perfect Control”

by Adam Thierer
Reaction Essay
May 8th, 2009

Adam Thierer condemns Lessig’s Code for its pessimism and inaccurate predictions. Where Code predicted that the future would consist largely of online “walled gardens” offering total corporate control, the walled-garden model has proven a failure. Lessig has recently claimed that he is even more confident today of the predictions he made ten years ago; Thierer doubts whether any evidence supports him. Thierer views Code and the intellectual movement it spawned as essentially one that justifies government control where no such control is warranted. He laments this movement’s growing influence.

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How to Get What We All Want

by Jonathan Zittrain
Reaction Essay
May 6th, 2009

In this essay, Jonathan Zittrain argues that the differences between Lawrence Lessig and Declan McCullagh aren’t really ideological. They’re about process and approach. He personally finds much common ground with cyberlibertarians, but also believes that a great deal of effort must be put forth to create institutions that will preserve an open Internet. Neither the government nor traditional, market-based firms are necessarily well-suited to the task.

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What Larry Didn’t Get

by Declan McCullagh
Lead Essay
May 4th, 2009

Journalist Declan McCullagh offers a mixed assessment of Lawrence Lessig’s Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace: Although Lessig was right that preserving individual liberty on the Internet is important, and although he was right to note the crucial importance of infrastructure and basic rulemaking in preserving individual choice, Lessig was mistaken in at least two ways. Lawmakers haven’t lived up to Lessig’s high expectations, and the “threat” of commercialization has largely failed to materialize.

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The Old View

Dan Greenberg’s response begins: I think though that perhaps this forum’s contributors — in their search for the best route to freedom — have overlooked the obvious. I believe that for ideologues generally, the most effective path to achieving their political goals is to support the campaigns of capable, trustworthy, and principled people for public [...]

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