What changes has the past year produced for the internet? Companies such as MP3.com and Napster have been hounded by armies of lawyers representing corporations claiming to be defending intellectual endeavour. The name for this is intellectual property rights, and it provides the basis for corporations to monopolise the work of others for profit.
Governments continue efforts to censor the internet. The French government has decided to take a stand against racism, not by allowing French immigrants to vote, but by trying to ban the sale of Nazi memorabilia over the internet. The US government retains control over core parts of the Internet with the newly launched ICANN naming and numbering organisation.
In a new attack, the Polish government has announced that it will tax free software as if it had been bought at commercial rates. The core of the internet today is free software.
The British government continues to demand the right to be able to read every message it can get its hands on. The US FBI regrets that its program to spy on email was named Carnivore: the FBI feels that a more neutral name would have been less offensive.
And of course, the Australian government is now one year into trying to police the internet on behalf of Senator Brian Harradine.
Despite the best efforts of US courts and many governments, the internet is failing to prove a boon for corporations. The past year has been a truly disastrous year for internet businesses. In the next few months up to half the internet public companies in the US are expected to fail as they run out of money. The overwhelming majority of all internet sales to consumers in the US are made by just a handful of companies. It is nothing out of the ordinary for companies to have lost 70-90% of their share value since March.
Workers in the industry are beginning to understand the need to join unions and fight for their conditions. Internet companies in the US have sacked around 31,000 workers this year, more than a quarter of those in November alone. While the numbers are tiny in relation to the total workforce, these are highly skilled workers who had experienced several years of being in high demand.
In November, 50 Amazon.com workers sought recognition as members of the Communications Workers of America. A similar pattern is occurring across the industry which has traditionally got workers to work long hours for poor pay and a promise of future wealth.
Finally, something remains unchanged. As internet participation grew from 200 million to 300 million over the past year, the most popular activity continues to be sending email. This low tech and not very profitable activity (for businesses) shows the continuing usefulness of the internet to a small but growing portion of the world's population.
By Greg Harris
<gregharris_greenleft@hotmail.com>