April 20, 2006
legitimate" government worries
Bill Gates, thought by many to be either G-d's gift to the computer world, or the software Anti-Christ, said something during a luncheon with Chinese President Hu that should frighten even his staunchest supporters.
According to an artical at Breitbart.com, Gates made the following statement:
"It is my belief that industry and government around the world should work even more closely to protect the privacy and security of Internet users, and promote the exchange of ideas, while respecting legitimate government considerations."
How does he define "legitimate government consideration" and how does he propose to provide such support?
Granted, he did give at least some lip-service to individuals, but at what point do government considerations override the expectation of individual privacy? Does it happen under a crackdown against dissidence in a foreign country? Or does it happen when one group of bloggers holds opinions counter to govenmental policies here? Even worse, does it happen when people pointed cast their opinions against Microsoft or it's subsidiaries in a way that challenges or threatens to diminish the deep pockets of both the corporation and it's little Emperor?
Oh, I'm sure there are those who look at this statement and see nothing but a feeble attempt at being a big time diplomat from the private sector. Maybe I'm a little less optimistic on this one, which is saying something. I tend to be rather a Polyanna when it comes to reading into what people say. But when I look at this one, I'm more than just a little concerned.