Reality Check About the Internet

The Dark Side of the Internet
By Lt. Gen. Clarence E. "Mac" McKnight, Jr. (USA-Ret)

Recent news accounts are detailing how the Islamic radicals use the Internet to lure fresh converts into suicide missions. Certain Presidential candidates, most notably Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, have suggested we should proscribe that sort of activity on the Internet, simply forbidding the radicals to use it to promote acts of random violence.

I have a news flash for Clinton, Trump and anyone else who thinks we can regulate the Internet in such a manner. That horse left the barn a long time ago. There were a few of us way back when warning of what could happen, but no one eager to listen. Now our worst fears are coming to reality, and there is in reality very little we can do about it.

The "wild west" of the Internet is an even bigger problem than that of facilitating terrorism. The anonymity of the Internet has facilitated a new generation of random brutality in which kids torment each other, pornographers fill the cyberspace with smut and anyone and everyone in public life is subjected to the most vile calumny imaginable. Anonymous voices make outrageous charges against you and there is no recourse, no means of addressing the deceit or obtaining redress. The bullies have unlimited power to wreak havoc and are not the least bit shy about using it.

The Chinese are making a herculean effort to control the Internet on their turf, not to protect public morals or discourage aggressive behavior, but rather to protect their oppressive government from exposure and criticism. In China, the dark vision of Orwell is coming to pass. A ministry of truth decides what is true and what is false, and anyone who challenges the ministry's ruling gets a visit by jackbooted thugs not subject to judicial review.

But even the Chinese with their unlimited power and unprincipled willingness to use it cannot stifle the Internet. They have tens of thousands of agents perusing personal e-mails and tweets, identifying malcontents left and right, hauling people off into the black void of their judicial system, but they can't keep up with the volume in their own country, never mind the world around them.

In the Internet, we have created a two-headed monster. The good side is its power to convey useful information and empower people to take control of their own lives and do great things. The downside is its power to facilitate abusive behavior and, as in the case of the Islamic terrorists, lure vulnerable personalities into hideous acts against society.

The dark side of the Internet is for better or worse part of our lives from now on. It cannot be effectively regulated or policed without sacrificing the basic freedoms we are committed to preserve. It is what it is. We have to make allowance for it and learn to live with it.

Lt. Gen. Clarence E. "Mac" McKnight, Jr., (USA-Ret) is the author of "From Pigeons to Tweets: A General Who Led Dramatic Change in Military Communications", published by The History Publishing Company.