Keeping smut off the Internet, though, is a desire shared by many in the West. The fear, however, is that the technology used to screen out pornography or religious disrespect could also be used to limit dissenting opinions. And that, some might say, is reason enough to have no curbs at all. But the reality is that governments usually act as they will, regardless of what their critics say. Just as it monitors phone calls, requires official permission to install satellite dishes and employs people to vet foreign magazines and newspapers, Vietnam will keep a close watch on Internet transmissions.
China is likely to be equally wary.
Yet control, of course, is easier said than done. The Internet was designed to survive a nuclear holocaust. It breaks up messages and routes them through millions of sites across the planet. Just as it is impossible to destroy, the network will become increasingly difficult to police as it expands. Even if countries limit the areas accessible by their citizens, one international phone call can immediately put a user in a different regulatory environment.