Talking Politics – Yahoo! News UK

The web’s response to an injunction on the Guardian reveals the liberating power of the internet. Hopefully, this is a taste of things to come.

By Ian Dunt

When J. Robert Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, was told at a party once that it was the tragedy of science that its inventions were always used for negative ends, he gave an answer which I always found particularly pertinent.

“No,” he replied. “It is the tragedy of humanity.” And that’s generally how it goes with man’s technological advancement. But then came the internet, which presumably will one day be considered man’s ultimate invention. It changed everything. We realised instantly what we had invented, as a species. Even in those first years, already the extent of the changes this thing would bring were evident.

Porn, some of it far more extreme than what we were used to, was suddenly available to children across the world at the click of a button. News became free. Marriages broke under the weight of the opportunities offered by Friends Reunited and Facebook, as people who thought they would never meet again were suddenly closer than they had imagined. Movies and music were suddenly available for free on peer-to-peer websites, and bands like the Arctic Monkeys found success themselves while circumnavigating record companies’ functions. You could gamble away your last penny from the comfort of your soon-to-be reclaimed house. You could hire a prostitute, get an arts and crafts book delivered, or do the weekly shop online. Businesses everywhere were affected. The world got quicker, and more convenient, but also further apart, as we formed ties across oceans with people of similar interests and relied less on those of the community around us.

For politics, it seemed the anarchic defence to governments which were quickly learning to use technology for authoritarian ends. From the DNA database, to ID cards, to biometric passports, the state saw new technology and thought of new ways to limit people. It’s always been that way.

The internet, and to a lesser extent mobile phones, were liberating. Text messaging became pivotal to the democratic process in Ukraine, allowing hundred of thousands of youths to coordinate their movements in Kiev as they protested the 2004 election result. Meanwhile, blogs, Facebook and Twitter became standard issue items for rebels and discontents in authoritarian countries across the globe, with internet companies agonising over what to do in China in particular.

There were big downsides. Media outlets saw their income shrivel up as people could go online for free, or simply because print couldn’t keep up with the new speed of the world. They sacked journalists and made the remainder write more copy, leading to worse reporting. Blogs started to claim a role as news providers which their subjective nature did nothing to justify.

Yesterday was an important day. Yesterday the internet lived up to all its promise. It began with an injunction on the Guardian by Carter Ruck, a law firm specialising in the media, which is very rarely referred to by its real name by those in the industry. The firm banned the paper from reporting on a parliamentary question from Paul Farrelly to justice secretary Jack Straw, published in yesterday’s House of Commons order paper. It’s a measure of how acutely unfair, authoritarian and in league with the powerful Britain’s libel laws are that a firm would even consider it possible to pursue this course of action. But yes, they asked for the public to be barred from learning about a question from an elected MP to a representative of the government, because it concerned their rich clients.

The question concerned issues with which I am particularly interested, but let’s leave that aside for a moment. If it had stuck, a terrible precedent would have been set whereby the powerful gained a pivotal new power over the people of Great Britain: the power to turn their elected parliament into a shadowy body, as impermeable and hostile to them as the lobbies of corporate buildings.

Twitter went bonkers. Wonderfully so. So wonderfully, in fact, that a human rights lawyer was barely able to conceal his glee when I called him in the afternoon. The #trafigura and #carterruck tags shot straight to the top of Twitter’s trends, exposing Carter Ruck’s clients to precisely the publicity they had hoped to avoid. By early afternoon, the injunction was lifted.

A small story. Nothing life-changing. But the most important thing to come from yesterday was what the internet prevented. It prevented a precedent being set which would have marked off even parliament from democratic participation. And it hinted at something else: the peculiar power the internet grants through its freedom. Yesterday showed how millions of connected individuals can circumnavigate the awesome power of corporations and government, can breach their layers of information control, and affect change. We’ve been theorising about this for ages. This was practical.

The world is changing fast. Yesterday’s events were so heavily reliant on Twitter they would have been unthinkable even two years ago, maybe even one year ago. But for those who dread technology, and the unfamiliar anarchic world it has forced on us, yesterday is proof we can put it to good use.

Re: 41. regencysounds.

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It's ironic isn't it? A Brit can spend 25 years living in Spain and proudly proclaim to all around he has never learnt one word of the local language (including gracias?) yet we expect people coming to UK to speak perfect English instantly, a feat which the majority of the indigenous population fail to achieve in a lifetime.

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That says rather a lot about the ignorance & arrogance of some Brits, but don't tar us all with the same brush. Before going to Germany to live & work there for a few years (On Her Majesty's Service) I made the effort to learn a little of their language. Firstly, I took up the offer of free lessons during the day, and secondly, I paid a little bit to do some more learning during the evenings – bought a dictionary & phrase book too (every little helps!).

On my own behalf I can only say that I found a little bit of effort goes a long way, and your efforts are greatly appreciated by the vast majority on the receiving end.

ll said, Jason. I couldn't put it better myself. Oh,and the sooner

we get rid of this self-seving Stalinist-type-Government the better

it will be for all of us. Davos.

i lerned a bit of germen so i cud understand the words of the songs coming from the lautsprechers at the BMP festerval Gruntfest

the horst wessell song ist ein grate track and tomrow belongs 2 me is good for slo dances

i tryed to get a boogie with Miss BMP but she truned me down wich is a pity as i fanceyed her rotting!!

Aber;

Es hat manner gegeben, die sich dafur schamten, dass die familien ihrer Fater und Muter ein fache arbeiter waren.

(I carnt find the omlettes to putt above some of the vouls.)

i never wrote no books or nothin or went to colege but my voat counts the same as yors

EIN VOLK, EIN REICH, EIN FEWRER GRIFFERING!!!!

It's just political bullying to cover up the truth about how badly handled the country's management is. The rich get even richer and the once reasonably well off blue collar workers are now the poor. As for those who were classed as poor before this decade, they are becoming a forgootten sub culture.

At least with the Internet we are all equal,the little man gets his say.

Vote English Democrat and help us get our Parliament back too.

For too long we have been bossed about by scottish riff-raff.

adenatlo ditto ditto, say something, ditto ditto, i suggest you take up diplomacy once again ha ha with your skills put to use we'll all be saved from our own stupidity and ignorance. God save us and the queen eh!!

actually richardnutley (45)

The question suppressed was about a British company dumping toxic waste in Ivory Coast so that we Brits didnt have to breathe in the noxious bi-products of our excessive lifestyles. Thousands of people later got ill from that.

They did apparently pay people up to $1000 each in compensation. That compensation could have gone to British poor people if our government had the foresight to let the company dump the waste locally.

Now that I am aware of this information I'm a little less happy and I wish no-one had been allowed to tell me.

mein gott!

Scottish riff-raff is the best riff-raff in the world!!!

There's lods of us here in Dukinfeld

but voat bmp and you'll get wite engerlish riff-raff too

wot say you??

I'm orff to put BPN leaflets with extreminate on them thru leterboxes of imgarnts with my m8 Roy.

Westie is grate at makin' em and i do the postin

wares the harm???

VOAT BPN AND RIFF WITH THE RAFF

It's just a jump to the right

the power of the internet would be impresive if it could deliver democracy to the nation by this i mean can the public tell government that we wont accept any rise in the retirement age ?

adenatio… no26… well it's probably better than 'Infamy, Infamy, they've all got it infamy!'I no understand col_ kurtz either!

no. 25…. I think Jock's reeling from having his posts cut off. Must be a shock to the system! He will no doubt get back to his old form. Pity about Yahoo censors- I think about 95 per cent of bloggers here really enjoyed reading about the BPM- he is a modern day Punch using humour to lambast politics. (Probably the remaining 5 per cent need mouth to mouth resusitation.)

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b.connaughton no 30- I have a job, thank you, but I am allowed the very occasional break and knock off at 5.30pm. Don't tell me it's got that bad in Britain that we don't have tea breaks anymore?(if you've actually got a job, that is) Where's a Scargill when you need one?

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Yakitate no 26…. you will probably get to like Jock's humour now it's been exposed to you. It kind of grows on one, like the first time you ever tasted an olive!

Hooray for modern technology and the Internet! Don't know a lot but think I'm learning (like the Duke of Ed. with his remote control!) Wish it had been around in the days of Macmillan, Wilson and Ted Heath. Who knows what it would have uncovered and the politicians might have evolved somewhat improved!

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