The Internet, Competition, and Censorship—Posner’s Comment

I agree with Becker that the Internet has been on the whole a valuable innovation. It is a less costly form of communication than either telephone or mail, and (a related point) a better substitute for personal communication than either telephone or mail; it economizes on time by reducing the transportation involved in meetings. I commute to work less frequently nowadays because I can work efficiently at home; and academics in different universities or even different countries can collaborate in writing books and articles at far lower cost than if they had to rely on the older modes of interaction. The Internet also, as Becker emphasizes, reduces the cost of access to information (though not always accurate information); it thus reduces information costs as well as communication costs.

 

As with most new technologies, however, there are downsides as well as upsides. The effect on substitute services as such should not be cause for concern except to the producers, for substitution effects are the inevitable consequence of innovation. The hotel and travel industries are hurt if business travel falls because of the substitution of online for in-person conferencing, though the hurt is offset to the extent that by lowering the costs of communication the Internet increases the amount of business activity and the geographical scope of firms.

 

But other harms caused by the Internet warrant social concern. The Internet lowers the cost of communication and there are bad as well as good communications: bad in the sense that they promote activities that reduce overall welfare. Examples are the use of the Internet by terrorists, by advocates of hate crimes, by purveyors of child pornography, by plagiarists, by defrauders, by violators of copyright law, and by identity thieves. The increase in these pathologies as a result of the Internet is a social cost and may be considerable. The contribution that the Internet has made to the recruitment and coordination of terrorists has created a considerable threat to our national security.

 

Of course, it is possible to monitor Internet communications, and our security and law enforcement agencies do that. But the volume is overwhelming; coded communications provide a challenge to monitors; and privacy advocates insist on limitations on monitoring.

 

The Internet is also highly vulnerable to penetration and disruption by enemies of the United States.

 

China and other authoritarian countries censor the Internet to prevent their populations from obtaining access to information critical of government. I agree with Becker that we should not make efforts to prevent China from censoring the Internet. I don’t think we should interfere in the internal affairs of countries that are not enemies of the United States. I also don’t think that Chinese censorship will be effective in the long run; it is too easy to circumvent Internet censorship.

 

The negative impact of the Internet on the newspaper industry is a possible source of concern. Newspapers are a bundled product: the publisher provides a large variety of news, opinion, and advertising in an effort to obtain a large enough readership to offset the heavy fixed costs of producing information. The Internet enables unbundling at low cost, which makes it difficult to cover those heavy fixed costs. As classified advertising migrates from newspapers to inexpensive Internet services, for example, the revenues of such advertisng no longer support costly newspaper newsrooms. But the effect on the extent to which the public is well informed may be offset by the rise of the blogs, which provide immense quantities of information and opinion on public issues at zero cost (other than time cost) to readers. At the same time, however, because the blogs are an unfiltered medium they are also a source of a great deal of misinformation. Yet Wikipedia illustrates how prompt correction, which the Internet also facilitates, can reduce inaccuracies in online dissemination of information.

 

The time costs imposed by the Internet are a source of some concern. People receive a great many more communications, because of their lower cost, in the form of email than they did in letters and phone calls, because email is cheaper. This can be a burden, and it is only partially offset by the “junk mail” filter programs that email services provide. The sender of a communication will usually not consider the cost to the recipient. Information overload can be a real cost.

 

Finally, we have become aware recently than the use of the Internet by drivers is a significant source of automobile accidents.

 

The net effect of the Internet on social welfare has probably been positive, but it is difficult to say how great it has been. Communication and information flows were rapid before the Internet, and the effect of increased rapidity on economic output and personal satisfaction may not be great when the full costs of the Internet are taken into account.

 

Comments

[air jordans]

The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.Do you think so?

[costa rica investments]

When I suffered my first depression was caused by many problems I had in my family. I never spoke to anyone of the problem until more and can not find professional help.

[Printing]

Repromen Offset Printers (p) Ltd. mainly specialized in Offset printers, Offset Printing, Offset printers Bangalore and Offset Printing Services in India.for more details visit http://www.repromenoffset.com/

[Email Database india]

I love your style of posting, very interesting. not give up and to travel further, so I simply read the value looked happy to several of his articles, a good.

Email Address Database

[viagra online]

Not exactly related to this post but... are you going to discuss the possible revival of the Fairness Doctrine? It sounds like a law being passed in Atlas Shrugged.

[microsoft office 2007]

this is a great post and thank you for sharing this nice experience,and hope you can give another posts as soon as possible.

[viagra online]

And, I've usually seen Hanukkah cards that are more "fussy", perhaps elegant. I wondered if I could do a clean and graphic card. I was really happy with how it turned out. I used a computer font, a Quickutz die and some gems. That's it.

[Liam Parker]

I fully agree with you, in regards to the overall effects of the internet. I cannot deny that there are numerous benefits to having internet access, yet I cannot help but be glad that someone besides myself has noticed the numerous problems the internet has produced. The reduction of media costs may be beneficial and, for most people, the social network is a blessing. But are such "benefits" so valuable that they outweigh the rampant increase in pornography, plagiarism, and numerous other ethical problems that have been created by the internet? I think not; and I wish I could say that the majority of Americans agree with me, but alas, the number of Google searches for "porn" prove otherwise.
Socially, the internet is corrosive. Oh, sure, I can keep in "contact" with my friends from seven years ago, but, in all fairness, if they're not willing to take the time to call me, or meet with me, or write to me, clearly our "friendship" is not very strong. Most of the people I am friends with have become my friends because I met them, talked with them, spent time with them--not because I chatted with them on Facebook more than with anyone else. For me, "social networking" has only created awkward and impolite situations, such as going to Starbucks with a friend only to have them text someone else instead of providing company.
I appreciate your blog, and the sensible opinions you provide. Thank you.

[conferencing software]

Conferencing Software is the latest in global communication. Its been hot for a while now but has just gone into another gear. Hundreds of companies and products based on conferencing are popping up all over the net. It takes a little getting use to trying to focus on the camera to engage your audiance properly but is way worth it compared to offline meetings. The costs you can save are huge.

[nike shox]

I don't know if you would think that your old website was attacked by Chinese hacker or government. But I could hard to believe they would do it.

[cheap used computers]

I would like to appreciate the work of blog author that the person provided us with an extremely excellent information regarding the topic. I really learned something from this blog and started to contribute my ideas via commenting on this blog. Keep it up!

[lower back pain]

I have to admit that censorship exists in China. But it's not so extremely as American think. The gmail accounts were attacked by hackers only because they used this to plan terroristic attack in China. The American government, or any other government will do and are doing the same thing.

[100% Authentic Retro Jordan Shoes]

Hola. I only did some net surfing and discovered this web site. I went by means of this weblog publish and its really amazing.I truly genuinely get pleasure from your blog site.Perfectly

[UGG Boots On Sale]

Tell me about yourself your past experience!

[Fox Hats]

businesses and non-profits so they can enjoy a better pc experience and protect sensitive information from exe errors

[severe back pain]

We are a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our community. Your website provided us with valuable information to work on. You have done an impressive job and our whole community will be thankful to you.

[Back Pain Relief Machine]

This is really interesting, You're a very skilled blogger. I've joined your feed and look forward to seeking more of your wonderful post. Also, I have shared your site in my social networks!

[solar water heater]

I have been searching for sites related to this. Glad I found you. Thanks

[shower room]

I think you’ve supplied some beneficial data. I’d love to learn a lot more and I’ll keep checking back as frequently as possible. :)

[shower enclosure]

I feel I should say, I enjoy reading this website. Could let me know how I can go about subscribing with it?

[recliner sofa]

That’s a really interesting post, I know in the UK that employers are searching Facebook and MySpace when they get CVs in to ‘get a true flavour of what that person is like’.

[outdoor furniture]

hey!
Great stuff! i got a lot of inspiration from this post
it is very interesting ….
i went through this page two times
am learning for social work

Thanks!

[bamboo flooring]

The last three lines are supposed to be "false starts" with strike throughs and the final line is (maybe) the first line of my imaginary novel that i am not so much writing, but I can't get the strike through thingie to work.

[crystal figurines]

It never comes to you that way. Fiction and non-fiction are the same thing - nobody knows if you're telling the truth. But most of all, go to your greatest love and let it blossom. Then all the things you fear will happen naturally, you won't be able to wait to explore your characters' lives!

[solar water heater]

I was participating in nano...and then I got to that second stage you speak of....this was my second try, and like you I've got lots of false starts on a number of different hard drives. I think I'm ready to embrace the essay...and, as always, I loved yours