Absolutely. Regulation can kill an emerging industry in its infancy. But, now I wonder - is that assumption still true? The internet has been mainstream (and I use the word loosely) for the last 10 years or so. Hell, I'm in my mid-20s and I remember using Internet when I was eight (hi Prodigy...haven't seen you around in a while!).
I was wondering if the internet has become so widespread that some regulation (but very little, since it is indeed very difficult to regulate). For example, last October, Congress passed the 21st Centry Video Accessibility Act, which among other things, requires pass-through captioning for videos on the internet (http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1207...).
I'm undecided on the matter. More than any other industries, internet-based companies seem to respond to privacy and security concerns. Of course, the issue is that there are usually big screw-ups inspire such responses, such as leaking personal data by mistake.
Well, I do think some regulation is inevitable though - considering how important the internet is becoming. Once something becomes crucial to a segment of America's economy, the government wants to step in and protect people's interests (or at least what they perceive to be people's interests). I would prefer such regulation be limited to requiring open standards/access and net neutrality.
I was wondering if the internet has become so widespread that some regulation (but very little, since it is indeed very difficult to regulate). For example, last October, Congress passed the 21st Centry Video Accessibility Act, which among other things, requires pass-through captioning for videos on the internet (http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2010/db1207...).
I'm undecided on the matter. More than any other industries, internet-based companies seem to respond to privacy and security concerns. Of course, the issue is that there are usually big screw-ups inspire such responses, such as leaking personal data by mistake.
Well, I do think some regulation is inevitable though - considering how important the internet is becoming. Once something becomes crucial to a segment of America's economy, the government wants to step in and protect people's interests (or at least what they perceive to be people's interests). I would prefer such regulation be limited to requiring open standards/access and net neutrality.