Crime, Drugs, Kids, Pornography, Privacy, Social Media, Social Networking Websites, Technology, Violence

The Dark Side Of The Web

How can we preserve online freedom while combating online illegality? A new report offers some ideas.

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I am on record as an optimist when it comes to the internet. The free flow of information on the web, including but not limited to websites like Above the Law, helps people make better decisions about their lives and careers (and also entertains, a value that shouldn’t be ignored).

At the same time, as we’ve discussed before, the web has its dark side….

The Digital Economy Task Force, sponsored by Thomson Reuters and the International Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (ICMEC), just released an important new report about the digital economy, offering thoughts on how online freedom can be preserved while online illegality can be curtailed. Task force co-chair Steve Rubley, who also serves as managing director of the Government Segment of Thomson Reuters, offered this insight:

The digital economy and anonymizing technology hold great promise and societal value, from offering financial tools to the world’s unbanked, to protecting dissidents and journalists from unjust government reprisal. But these benefits are clouded by those who use and exploit the digital economy to commit illegal acts. While these are all complicated issues, we believe that a regulatory framework can grow the digital economy — and confront those who seek to exploit it for illicit purposes.

What sort of regulatory framework are we talking about? For details, check out the complete report.

Just like the internet, the importance of these issues will only continue to grow. Thanks to Steve Rubley and his colleagues on the Digital Economy Task Force for this important contribution to public discourse about the web.

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New Digital Economy Task Force Report Addresses Digital Economy, Illicit Activity [Thomson Reuters]
The Digital Economy: Potential, Perils, and Promises [Digital Economy Task Force]

Earlier: LegalTech 2014: The Internet Is For Porn (And Drugs, Contract Killings, And Other Illegal Activity)

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