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Tim Wu, best known for coining the phrase network neutrality in his paper “Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination”, explained the aim of his book -The Master Switch / Rise and Fall of Information Empires- in an interview:

“It has been the aim of this book to show that our information industries –the defining business ventures of our time- have from their inception been subject to the same cycle of rise and fall, imperial consolidation and dispersion, and that the time has come when we must pay attention.”  (http://www.erhanekici.com/blog/2010/11/22/bilgi-imparatorluklarinin-yukselisi-ve-dususu/)

and he was right, internet freedom, civil liberties and network neutrality are at stake and the time has come when we must pay attention.

Wikipedia -the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet- has taken its english edition site offline as part of protests against proposed anti-piracy laws -SOPA/ PIPA- in the United States.  Some other popular web sites -Google, Boing Boing etc- joined the party as well.  While there was remarkable attention to online anti-piracy bills,the most important one, ACTA – the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement- hasn’t been so lucky to catch media attention yet poses a tremendous threat to internet and civil liberties.

Last week, a short video made by Anonymous group about ACTA posted on youtube and it explains “what is ACTA” from an civil liberties view:

in 2009, I had posted an entry on my blog about ACTA:

Knowledge Economy, Copyright and IP in Digital Age?
http://www.erhanekici.com/blog/2009/12/01/knowledge-economy-copyright-and-ip-in-digital-age/

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