Arms Trade as Analogy – by James Lewis

Arms Trade as Analogy – by James Lewis | Cyber Dialogue Conference: "We might want to start by asking what is it we want to prevent, and then consider which tools might achieve this. Is software an arm? The barriers to production are so low, can “weapons’ development be prevented? How would digital arms trade regulations affect civil liberties and the wonderfulness of the Internet in allegedly creating innovation? What are the prospects for international cooperation? How would you verify compliance? Are export restrictions the best way to manage the risk of conflict? All of these beg the larger question as to whether a “digital arms trade” even exists (unless you count social control software). It might be better to make these fundamental and definitional issues the topic rather than assuming that there are digital arms and that we can control them. Are Internet surveillance technologies a “weapon?” Not under international law, although they could be “weaponized.” 'via Blog this'