Law 2.0

Let’s start with 2 facts:

1. Web 2.0 is proving the power of user generated content. We see a faster shift of power toward consumer and, while all the content is not good quality, some great new content would probably never have seen the day of light without it.
2. Laws, while necessary, are often ineffective. Banks spent billions complying with numerous and complex regulations, dealing with governance and anti-predatory lending laws etc and we have… a subprime crisis.

I am putting these two facts side by side because a recent ruling from the US court indicates that there might be a significant change to the legal framework of Internet coming and that the broad legal shields used so far may, in fact, not be deemed sufficient in the future.

My worry is that introducing more regulations in internet may slow down the pace of development without (like in banking) providing real consumer protection.

I believe the courts would provide more value by judging the ethic of the businesses that are brought in front of them and consumers need more effective advocacy, not necessarily more legal constraints they will end up paying for.