I’d hate to see government succeed in doing in the interactive space what they’ve failed or chosen not to do in traditional publishing and broadcasting, which is to set moral standards by regulation rather than by individual choice.
Predictor: Hearst, William Randolph 3d
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article for The New York Times, Denise Caruso covers the controversy over the Communications Decency Act, which targeted ‘indecent’ material on the Internet. She quotes William Randolph Hearst 3rd. Caruso writes: ”Those who condemn the proposed Internet censorshop measure do acknowledge the existence of a problem: the need to protect children from pornography and anything else a parent deems harmful. But when it comes to Internet technology, ‘most of these laws are advanced by people who don’t get it,’ said William Randolph Hearst 3d, the venture capitalist who is chief executive officer of the Internet start-up company @Home and the former publisher of The San Francisco Examiner. If the Internet is to become a true consumer technology that is welcomed into the home, Mr. Hearst said, parents should use technology to filter out offending material. But making censorship the filter would signal a fundamental change in the role that the government plays in regulating communications. Mr. Hearst said: ‘I’d hate to see government succeed in doing in the interactive space what they’ve failed or chosen not to do in traditional publishing and broadcasting, which is to set moral standards by regulation rather than by individual choice.”
Date of prediction: December 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Censorship/Free Speech
Name of publication: New York Times
Title, headline, chapter name: Digital Commerce: The Prospect of Internet Censorship Raises Troubling Issues for Business
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Section D; Page 3; Column 3; Business/Financial Desk
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney