The federal government, which spawned the Internet, has one foot in the organization and one foot out, clouding the issues of governance and, especially, the network’s commercial potential … Major questions, like: “Are any forms of communication to be restricted?” [and] “What about individual privacy rights?” have hardly been discussed, much less resolved. Protection of intellectual property rights is extremely difficult, a situation disliked by those whose primary interest in the information superhighway is commercial, but applauded by advocates of the unrestricted flow of information.
Predictor: Radin, Charles A.
Prediction, in context:In a 1993 article for The Boston Globe, Charles Radin writes: ”The federal government, which spawned the Internet, has one foot in the organization and one foot out, clouding the issues of governance and, especially, the network’s commercial potential. The Internet is on the way to becoming a major public facility, but major questions, like: ‘Are any forms of communication to be restricted?’ [and] ‘What about individual privacy rights?’ have hardly been discussed, much less resolved. Protection of intellectual property rights is extremely difficult, a situation disliked by those whose primary interest in the information superhighway is commercial, but applauded by advocates of the unrestricted flow of information.”
Date of prediction: January 2, 1993
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: General
Name of publication: Boston Globe
Title, headline, chapter name: 20 Million Drive the Information Highway; It’s Time to Open the Internet to Every Computer User, Planners Say
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=2592a235acf329142c1c3ed7a7aaa201...
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Dube, Kristin