According to Tim Wu, author of The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires and the man responsible for the term “net neutrality,” Apple is the number one danger to Internet freedom. In a one on one interview with the New York Times, Columbia law professor Wu claims that what worries him most about Apple is that “Steve Jobs has the charisma, vision and instincts of every great information emperor. The man who helped create the personal computer 40 years ago is probably the leading candidate to help exterminate it. His vision has an undeniable appeal, but he wants too much control.”
While net neutrality has been a hot topic as of late, and I can understand having some healthy skepticism about monopolistic behavior by corporations, I have a bit of an issue when someone claims that the power of a CEO is similar to that of a great nation. That’s a pretty large conclusion he jumps directly to, especially when he says that “the man who starts as the great reformer often ends his career by becoming increasingly paranoid and abusive” to back up the claim. It seems a bit superfluous at best. After all, in 1994 Time magazine wondered if Bill Gates was getting too powerful, but I never saw him transform into an evil, paranoid CEO.
What do you guys think about Professor Wu’s claims?
[via Computerworld]
Net neutrality expert calls Apple the number one threat to Internet freedom originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 16 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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