Techdirt has a story that is quite disturbing on many levels:
Forget banning TikTok, the Trump State Department just suggested it wants to basically ban China from the internet. Rather than promoting an open internet and the concept of openness, it appears that under this administration we're slamming the gates shut and setting up the Great American Firewall for the internet. Under the guise of what it calls the Clean Network to Safeguard America, last night Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a program that is full of vague statements, that could, in practice, fragment the internet.
This is incredibly disappointing on multiple levels. While other countries -- especially China, but also Iran and Russia -- have created their own fragmented internet, the US used to stand for an open internet across the globe. Indeed, for whatever complaints we had about the State Department during the Obama administration (and we had many complaints), its commitment to an open internet was very strong and meaningful. That's clearly now gone. The "Clean Network to Safeguard America" consists of five programs that can be summed up as "fuck you China."
So much for Internet openness.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Monday August 10 2020, @12:27PM
Learn some history. There was no leadership in 1918.
Because? It spreads like a flu both in means and infectiousness, contrary to assertion. And nobody has tried to use the present tricks on a flu - like social distancing, requiring people to wear masks, or quarantining people if they show symptoms of the flu. I bet those tricks would work quite well, if they did.
Why would we do that? Classic Chicken Little logic there.