Will the French take defense of their language to the point of jamming German-language stations broadcast from shared satellites? … The enforcement of cultural quotas on the explosive growth of new technologies could succeed only through authoritarian supervisors – “thought police” – tuned to every satellite dish, monitoring every signal plucked from the air or whizzed down an optic fiber.
Predictor: Andrews, John
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 essay for Wired magazine, John Andrews, The Economist’s correspondent in Brussels, looks at the efforts of the French government to stifle the global expansion of American culture. Andrews writes: ”Will the French take defense of their language to the point of jamming German-language stations broadcast from shared satellites? Now, that would be a step toward European unity. The enforcement of cultural quotas on the explosive growth of new technologies could succeed only through authoritarian supervisors – ‘thought police’ – tuned to every satellite dish, monitoring every signal plucked from the air or whizzed down an optic fiber. Technically, the authorities might be able to control every European-based program provider. But could they really monitor all transmissions from outside, even if they wanted to? And do they want to? While defense of culture is politically popular in Europe for now, even the French might pause when they realize that the staunch defense of European values in the face of changing technology also requires monitoring and censorship on a scale now practiced only in North Korea and Singapore.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Global Relationships/Politics
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Wired
Title, headline, chapter name: Culture Wars: Francois Mitterrand has Declared War on Mickey, Madonna, and All-American Culture. Bad News, Francois: Mickey’s Winning
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.05/culture_pr.html
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Anderson, Janna Quitney