While I agree with you, I think it's inevitable that governments, maybe eventually all, will abuse the power they have to censor the internet.
It is important that fraud charges can be reversed and people like Alex Jones shut up, but if the normal internet becomes too restricted and an alternative free one where crime is rampant is the only place to get a lot of information, that's where people will go.
While I too want better rules, I also want insurance in place for when governments decide to jump the shark when it comes to censoring and restricting information.
> I think it's inevitable that governments [..] will abuse the power they have to censor the internet.
Censoring isn't inherently an abuse of power. If nude photos of my 10 year old niece were circulating on the internet, I'd be in favour of censoring those photos too.
Dang censors HN all the time, by removing posts. Is that an abuse of power too?
> While I too want better rules, I also want insurance in place for when governments decide to jump the shark
If your government goes rogue, the insurance you really need is freedom of movement. The fact that people in Russia or Gaza can use bitcoin doesn't make them a great place to be right now.
Free, anonymous speech on the internet would make it easier to subvert and overthrow your government. But I'd much rather a government that doesn't need to be overthrown in the first place.
I didn't say it was, I said governments will abuse the power they do have.
> The fact that people in Russia or Gaza can use bitcoin doesn't make them a great place to be right now.
It means they can participate in the global economy and internet to an extent despite their government trying to prevent it.
> But I'd much rather a government that doesn't need to be overthrown in the first place.
Sure, and I'd much rather no one was ever mean to anyone ever again. But realistically, it's likely there will be a need for an internet that can't be censored for a variety of reasons.
The opposite of censoring is putting out information at scale. What if the Chinese government decides to generate so much information at so much scale that people start believing it? Advertisements work, do they not? Saturate the internet with speech, so much speech that speech loses meaning.
> What if the Chinese government decides to generate so much information at so much scale that people start believing it?
What if people respond to such a scenario by choosing not to believe Chinese misinformation?
When leaning into damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't arguments about free speech, I prefer to favour the side that's against censorship. Let the people decide how they will handle their information. You really don't get good examples of governments using such powers nobly
It is important that fraud charges can be reversed and people like Alex Jones shut up, but if the normal internet becomes too restricted and an alternative free one where crime is rampant is the only place to get a lot of information, that's where people will go.
While I too want better rules, I also want insurance in place for when governments decide to jump the shark when it comes to censoring and restricting information.