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I think we're seeing a decline in the idea that Code is Law. It was an interesting idea while it lasted, and there are still a *lot* of unaccountable infrastructures that are effectively making & enforcing private legislation. But technology is ultimately managed by people, and those people are subject to laws.
If you want a just society, there's no getting around politics; you need good laws and trustworthy governments to carry them out.
@natematias it is interesting that you tag that as “code is law”! In my reading, Lessig’s formulation acknowledged—even in the heady days of 1998(?)—that “east coast code” and “west coast code” were interdependent. So I associate the phrase with the claim that code is *a* law, not with the claim that code is *the* law.
Maybe I need to put on my housing hat and write “code is (zoning) law”, emphasizing that software code’s legal role is real, but a creature of layered systems?
@luis_in_brief yeah, this is less a response to Lessig directly as it is a response to how people think and talk about that aspect of Lessig's writing.
Musk's attempt to rebuff Brazilian law because he has satellites is obviously naive—in interesting ways.
And yes to your other points. I too would be very interested to read more of a summary and review about speech law and Latin American political history. It's something I wish I understood more.
@natematias @luis_in_brief Riffing beyond code here, the rule of law is a little tenuous in Brazil. The sociological concept called “jeitinho” awards the opportunity to avoid inconvenient laws, and the idea of “Belindia” points out the supposed inadequacy of Brazilian laws to society (having laws like Belgium in a society like India). So, military governments aside, Brazilians' skeptical view of their legal system is well known.
@aarbrk @natematias how do you think that impacts this particular situation? people aren't worried because they'll ignore/work around it, or...?
@luis_in_brief @natematias My read is that people's compliance with any ruling will be only partial. I'd be shocked if many of them were actually fined for using VPNs. It's worth mentioning that Starlink is an important tool in deforestation-based ranching practices. The show must go on.
@aarbrk @natematias "Starlink is an important tool in deforestation-based ranching practices" sigh, because of course it is.