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How "trusted computing" initiatives endanger freedom on the net. Haven't read this yet, but I think I know mostly what it's going to say. And there is no turning back: we definitely need some tools to restrict freedom on the net, because there is too much junk floating around. The scale of the net has grown to the point that we come to depend on sociotechnical structures that can privilege certain parties over others. Frassle is one such tool. Google is another.

When we build these tools in the internet, however, we have the opportunity to invent new societal structures that reflect better values. This is perhaps the greatest appeal of the net for me: it's a space where people organize themselves, their relationships, and their knowledge. The tools we give people to use on the net shape its living environment. The net is, at its best, like a city that we all live in. TCP/IP and web servers, in the net world, take a role like physics and chemistry in meatspace. Applications like search engines are like highways. Communications hubs like friendster are like universities or clubs. The universal value, appeal, and permanence of the internet convince me that in 1000 years, people will consider the internet as intrinsic a part of the human social experience as we now consider the city.