Fortunately, attempts by governments to reign in the power of the Net have largely beenineffective. Even the “three strikes/SkyNet” legislation here in NZ seems to have fallenat the final hurdle, with no prosecutions yet being brought against those who have usedup all their chances.

SOPA is pretty much a dead duck but the TPP remains a worrying possibility. We’ve alreadyseen that governments are more than happy to sell the rights of citizens down the river ifthey think they’ll be able to claim some kind of victory for the economic future of the nation.They forget that a nation is more than a balance sheet, more than a ledger of money in versusmoney out. They need to remember that we are a sovereign nation and that’s something whichneeds protecting, not trading away for a few promises of trade access.

I’d like to give a special “Merry Christmas” shout-out to Kim Dotcom. Although I’venever met him and don’t watch TV so have seen very little of him, I do think he’s gottena very raw deal this year. Shame on those who (like the GOM) will stop at nothing(including breaking the law) to achieve their shady ends. Let’s hope that those whowould corrupt our principles to serve a foreign master will wake up to their follyeventually.