Google's Schmidt pitches 'self-governing' Net

GOOGLE'S SCHMIDT PITCHES 'SELF-GOVERNING' NET
[SOURCE: C-Net|News.com, AUTHOR: Anne Broache]
Google CEO Eric Schmidt's nightmare scenario for a future Internet looks like this: As billions more people go online, those in power are so "freaked out" about the misuse of personal information that they suffocate the Web with stifling regulations. Under that "undesirable" construction, a small number of companies become gatekeepers, forcing Internet users to interact in "highly regimented" ways that rest on verifying their identities, Schmidt said in his keynote speech at a luncheon event hosted here by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Google chief said he remained optimistic that the Internet will instead tend toward a self-governing set of people and communities. But he acknowledged that "true anonymity is extremely rare...and can be very, very dangerous." In that vein, a middle-ground scenario that supplies "enough insulation so you know who you're dealing with" could also arise. http://news.com.com/Googles+Schmidt+pitches+self-governing+Net/2100-1038_3-6156821.html?tag=html.alert

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