What is in the future for the Internet??

It seems as though this debate of Government regulation will continue to grow the more the Internet becomes increasingly prevalent. The Internet will continue to be a device we use as a society, and that the world uses. It is a great way to communicate across the globe, easy to find any answers to any questions you may have, and acts as a tool for work, school and jobs. As the Internet grows, so will the threats that we face today; hacking, child predators, the attempt for global domination, etc. That being said, there does need to be a consensus on how, if at all, the government will regulate the Internet. Like I mentioned in previous posts, I think there is a common belief that there needs to be some government regulation, but again this answer begs the question of how much regulation.

When looking at other debates and controversies, there is a common theme; there is rarely an answer that makes all parties content. In the government regulation of the Internet debate, there are people who do not want any regulation at all, some want a little, and there are also advocates for full government control of the Internet. It seems that we need to focus on staying balanced and in the middle. That is why I suggested a government policy that is not too strict, yet it is conducive to some Internet safety.

Despite my beliefs on a specific policy, it is interesting to think about what the future looks like for the Internet. It will continue to strengthen and I think things will remain as they are for quite some time because of the polar opposite views on regulation. As far as a ways down the road, I believe that government regulation will never be where it wants to be. There are too many hoops that the government would have to jump through to allow it to have full control that would never pass through policy makers and the public; for example, the House just recently voted against government regulation at the start of the IT convention.  But, they are very persistent, and it may be sooner than we think that they will have the most control over the Internet. It will be a very interesting topic to stay invested in because the debate is constantly being resurfaced.