As commercial interests try to convert what has essentially been a commons into a total market order, the Internet is experiencing a mid-life crisis. The open Internet is in the process of being enclosed by a variety of commercial forces. The struggle for political and creative freedom is getting more urgent and complicated as commercial forces try to “develop” the Internet.
The challenge for people who believe in free culture is to reinterpret the core values of the Internet and somehow develop new ways to protect them in today’s more complicated environment.