Corporate Cowardice & Internet Freedom
Spiegel says that it’s only if companies are more generous in their interpretation of fundamental rights that the Internet can continue to function as a public space.
Spiegel asks: “Does the US constitution protect WikiLeaks? Only courts can decide how far the whistleblowing platform can go. Yet Amazon and others have simply blocked the site, rather than waiting for legal clarification. The companies’ cowardice is now threatening Internet freedom.” “The different reactions from Internet firms to the WikiLeaks publications reveal a dilemma. Many citizens regard the Internet as a public space, but in fact it is a private sphere. And the companies that control almost all the forums on the Web can, if in doubt, exercise their rights of ownership and ban who they like.”
