The FIPR has never denied that it has been funded by Microsoft . And I am sure that the distinguished members of the FIPR's advisory council are in no sense beholden to Microsoft. Business resists regulation. What is perhaps a little surprising is the way in which other groups, including Journalists, which are normally wary of becoming the instruments of big business, seem to have focused only on the civil liberties aspects of the debate. The government gave a lot of ground as the RIP Bill went through parliament, significantly adapting it to suit industry demands.
Civil society needs to catch up with the net.
Techies and lawyers should not be the only voices in the debate about how the internet is changing Britain and journalists should be more sceptical of those who preach unbridled deregulation. There is a huge public interest at stake. We have to find ways of enabling the institutions of our imperfect democracy to take account of this new technology. Governments elsewhere are beginning to realise the wider implications of the internet s development, and that leaving it all to industry self regulation is insufficient. They are also beginning to understand that the internet need not be above the law.