Encourage NOT discourage the Internet

I am reproducing an edited version of a discussion I found after browsing the Boing-Boing web site, and with which I fully agree. So take note:

The Internet is the place where we meet, speak, create, educate ourselves and organise. However, as we are at a turning point in early web history, it could either become a prime tool for improving our societies, knowledge and culture, or a totalitarian tool of surveillance and control.

After 15 years of fighting the sharing of culture in the name of an obsolete copyright regime, governments of the World are uniting to control and censor the Internet. The black-out of the Egyptian Net, the US government's reaction to Wikileaks, the adoption of website blocking mechanisms in Europe, or the plans for 'Internet kill switches' are all major threats on our freedom of expression and communication. These threats come from corporations and politicians, unsettled by the advent of the Internet.

The Internet allows us to express our opinions universally. The Internet unites us and makes us strong. It is a space in which the common civilisation of our diverse planet meets. Our imaginations, through all kinds of media we create and publish, help us protect our rights and a free Internet.

For more info take a look at this web site:

http://fcforum.net/charter#summary