broadcast Aug. 4, 1998

I have in mind a new invention, but I'm not sure what to call it. Here's what it does: It consumes vasts quantities of natural resources, fouls the air and contributes to the maiming and death of thousands of people each year.

Similar to ... the Internet. Well, that's at least that's what some people in Washington seem to think, people who want to regulate what goes online.

The argument goes that the Internet is the biggest collection of pornography ever compiled, and so Congress needs to crack down to protect the public health and well-being. There are several bills that have been introduced to do this. Particularly in an election year, it's hard for a politician to put him or her-self in the position of allowing an opponent to say you voted for pornography.

At the heart of this debate are a couple of misconceptions. First off, it's hard to imagine, for regulatory purposes, an entity called "the Internet." An Internet exists, but certainly has a different character from a TV network, which is a centralized, controlled operation. What we refer to as "the Internet" is an array of thousands and thousands of independent computers which allow data and images to be sent and received in a common format by millions of people around the world. "The Internet" in that context isn't something easily regulated. It's almost like there's no there there to regulate. The Internet is everywhere.

The other part of the equation is what goes over those wires. And it's the content that's at the heart of the regulatory debate. It's not about controlling technology. It's about controlling people.

Is the Internet the world's biggest collection of porn? Probably. It's also the world's biggest collection of everything. Of scientific papers, of music, of literature, of ads, of junk of all sorts that people create -- most of it not pornographic by any means.

We, anyone who has gone online to look at a Web page, or put up their own; who has contributed to an online discussion, or started one.. we are the Internet. It, as they say, is us.

Now, about my invention that wastes resources, pollutes the air and contributes to maiming and death? I call it a car, and to think of it only in terms of the considerable harms it causes to our world is as misleading as looking at the Net through the prism of the nasty.

In Washington, this is Art Brodsky for Marketplace.

I have in mind a new invention, but I'm not sure what to call it. Here's what it does: It consumes vasts quantities of natural resources, fouls the air and contributes to the maiming and death of thousands of people each year.

Similar to ... the Internet. Well, that's at least that's what some people in Washington seem to think, people who want to regulate what goes online.

The argument goes that the Internet is the biggest collection of pornography ever compiled, and so Congress needs to crack down to protect the public health and well-being. There are several bills that have been introduced to do this. Particularly in an election year, it's hard for a politician to put him or her-self in the position of allowing an opponent to say you voted for pornography.

At the heart of this debate are a couple of misconceptions. First off, it's hard to imagine, for regulatory purposes, an entity called "the Internet." An Internet exists, but certainly has a different character from a TV network, which is a centralized, controlled operation. What we refer to as "the Internet" is an array of thousands and thousands of independent computers which allow data and images to be sent and received in a common format by millions of people around the world.

"The Internet" in that context isn't something easily regulated. It's almost like there's no there there to regulate. The Internet is everywhere.

The other part of the equation is what goes over those wires. And it's the content that's at the heart of the regulatory debate. It's not about controlling technology. It's about controlling people.

Is the Internet the world's biggest collection of porn? Probably. It's also the world's biggest collection of everything. Of scientific papers, of music, of literature, of ads, of junk of all sorts that people create -- most of it not pornographic by any means.

We, anyone who has gone online to look at a Web page, or put up their own; who has contributed to an online discussion, or started one.. we are the Internet. It, as they say, is us.

Now, about my invention that wastes resources, pollutes the air and contributes to maiming and death? I call it a car, and to think of it only in terms of whatever harms it causes to our world is as misleading as looking at the Net through the prism of the nasty.

In Washington, this is Art Brodsky for Marketplace.