Tiananmen Square of the Internet?

Good NYT discussion of what is happening right now, internet attacks on companies that acted against Wikileaks.   http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/09/techn

From the article, quote:
""Some internet experts say the situation highlights the complexities of free speech issues on the Internet, as grassroots Web companies evolve and take central control over what their users can make public. Clay Shirky, who studies the Internet and teaches at New York University, said that although the Web is the new public sphere, it is actually “a corporate sphere that tolerates public speech.”

Marcia Hofmann, a lawyer at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said, “Any Internet user who cares about free speech or has a controversial or unpopular message should be concerned about the fact that intermediaries might not let them express it.”

"She added, “Your free speech rights are only as strong as the weakest intermediary.” "

You know how this will end. Like Tiananmen Square.   Some say said the U.S. gov'ment will pull the plug. More likely, companies will, one at a time. Because internet functions are not provided as a public service, but for commercial purposes. When you tweak the beard of the lion, even a sleepy unmotivated one, you end up being eaten.

In the end though, like Tiananmen Square all this probes boundaries and shows us what the truth is. Without truth, we are nothing and freedom is nothing and we have been living in a fool's paradise.