By: Linda McQuaig

  Before we get to the short-lived drama of iCraveTV, let's consider another recent Internet story - the America Online takeover of Time Warner a few weeks ago.
  There's been much said about how this takeover would concentrate power within the vast information and entertainment industry. But there's been little talk about doing anything to regulate this crucial, multi-billion dollar industry.
  If anything, there's been talk of further deregulation. In Canada, our regulatory body, the CRTC, had already decided last year not to regulate the Internet. So of course, there would be nothing the CRTC would do to enforce Canadian content rules on the programming that would now soon be coming through the Internet as a result of this takeover.
 

In many ways, iCraveTV's action was right in sync with the mood of the times, simply exploiting the endless new possibilities of the Internet

  Indeed, a CRTC official suggested that the takeover might make it necessary for us to actually deregulate the related field of television. His point was that since there's no way to enforce Canadian-content rules on the Internet, why should Canadian TV broadcasters be forced to submit to them either?
  It all seemed like just one more example of how powerless governments are these days, in the face of globalization and the on-line revolution. No point it trying to fight it; the computer has changed the world, and anyone trying to resist is simply a Luddite.
  Except, it turns out, if it's big business doing the resisting. Take the case of iCraveTV. In many ways, iCraveTV's action was right in sync with the mood of the times, simply exploiting the endless new possibilities of the Internet.
  But in doing so, it stepped on the toes of the powerful companies in the U.S. entertainment business.
 

They (media giants) certainly don't buy that nonsense about how it's impossible to regulate the Internet. When their interests are at stake, they find a way to regulate the Internet.

  And when it comes to defending their own interests, these giants don't fool around. They certainly don't buy that nonsense about how it's impossible to regulate the Internet. When their interests are at stake, they find a way to regulate the Internet.
  So, for instance, the big entertainment companies simply sent a high-powered team of lawyers to court and brought a whammy of legal actions that quickly drove iCraveTV off the air and threatened it with multi-million dollar lawsuits. It was even reported that William Craig, president of the upstart company, would be arrested if he dared to enter the U.S.
  It wasn't enough just to shut down Craig's pirate operation, they wanted to beat him up enough to scare anyone else with a similar idea.
  One thing that becomes clear from all this is that, lo and behold, it is possible to regulate the Internet after all - if you're rich and powerful enough.
  Indeed, powerful companies have shown similar clout in their ability to impose regulations on what's known as intellectual property.
  It would be hard to imagine anything much more difficult to regulate than intellectual property - that is, the copyright ownership of ideas, inventions and artistic works. But these ownership rights are terribly important to powerful corporate interests, ranging from pharmaceutical giants to Hollywood film companies. So these corporate interests have used their clout to get the U.S. government to put in place and enforce a worldwide system to protect their copyrights.
  Such a show of government potency is strangely lacking however when it comes to regulating things the financial elite doesn't want regulated - like international capital flows.
  When it comes to regulating international capital flows - a move that could be enormously beneficial to the world economy - governments suddenly go limp.
  For instance, a proposed tax on international capital flows, known as the Tobin tax, is simply dismissed as unfeasible. How could governments possibly regulate capital flows in these days of world-wide computer networks?
  Well, you can bet they'd find a way - if powerful financial interests wanted them to. Just ask iCraveTV.