The internet is one of the last few aspects of modern America that is relatively free from government control. The main reason being is that it is protected by the First Amendment. In Addition, the internet has become an invaluable aspect of society through which we have transformed our entire way of life and the way in which we interact. Through the internet, we are able to live free from government interference, from both a social and economic standpoint.
Bureaucrats who feel the need to control this country do not like this. They prefer to control our lives and tax our earnings so that they can maintain and expand their own power. They believe that they know what is best for society and how we should lead our own lives and conduct business. Over the centuries they have expanded their influence into almost every aspect of American society, both socially and economically. However, the internet is one entity that they have yet to seize control over...so far.
Given the level of importance that we place on the internet, the consensus remains that Americans are not willing to let the government begin to control our precious internet freedom--similar to the way in which Americans cherished freedom in everyday life, prior to the presidency of Herbert Hoover/Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1929-1945). These presidents were able to gain control over American society in the midst of "crises". In the event of a crisis, citizens have a tendency to surrender their freedom in exchange for "security" as offered by the government. It is through this very same means that the government will begin to infiltrate, and gain control over, the internet.
The day has yet to come, but once a major problem occurs through the use of the internet, power-hungry bureaucrats will be certain to exploit this opportunity in order to gain control. Some of the potential examples are as follows:
-A terrorist infects a U.S. government database with a virus and therefore the government should expand its control over the internet in order to continue fighting terrorism.
-Children are exposed to too many evils on the internet and therefore the government must step in to prevent this.
-Intellectual property is not thoroughly protected on the internet and therefore the government must take over in order to enforce these laws.
-A war. It may be a war with another nation. Or our government may concoct a new misleading slogan similar to their "war on terror", "war on drugs", "war on poverty", etc.
It is very easy to blame the internet (the communications medium) and to claim that if only we had, say, an "internet security" system in place our children would be "safer". In response, a large national movement will take place blaming "the internet" and "freedom".
A president will then go on to launch an aggressive push to begin control over our once-beloved internet. Many of the scared parents across the nation will then demand that the government protect their children from the evils of society that "infect the internet". Concurrently, the many industries and businesses that have suffered, due to better competition online, will lobby in support of the president. The defense contractors who profit from increased defense measures will also lobby on behalf of the president. For added strength, the many power-hungry politicians such as long-time senators Joe Lieberman and John D. Rockefeller IV will also get behind the president under the guise of "security".
In fact, many of these actors have already begun their attack on the internet through gimmicks such as government regulated "net neutrality". All they need now is the right "crisis" to appear. In a testimony to congress, Rockefeller defined "cybersecurity perpetrated through the internet as the #1 national hazard of attack on the homeland
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