The reality of anywhere, anytime access to broadband digital networks is going to make our lives freer and fuller. I'm not speaking merely of our lives as consumers, but as citizens. Open access to information is the essence of our democratic freedoms. Historically, whether it's been royal or clerical absolutism, or the totalitarianism of the extreme right or left, the tyranny of the few over the many has depended on the ability to control and restrict that access. The Internet is the single greatest tool for the expansion of democracy in human history.
Unlimited access implies greater responsibility.
As parents, teachers, citizens, we're responsible for protecting our children from inappropriate content and employing the digital tools that let us do that. But the responsibility extends from individuals to corporations. For example, as the home of the world's premier news brands in print and electronic media, we at AOL Time Warner recognize the heightened responsibility we bear. Without these trusted sources, people's ability to reach intelligent conclusions is dangerously diminished. For AOL Time Warner, then, Time Inc. and CNN aren't just lucrative franchises or profit centers.