John Perry Barlow Discusses Computer-Age Law

"If you don't have law, ethics will arise to take its place, and if you have law, ethics will tend to whither," John Perry Barlow says, as he explains his philosophy within the undefined world of Cyberspace.

Barlow, a retired Wyoming cattle rancher, lyricist for the Grateful Dead, country chair of the Wyoming Republican party and co-founder of the non-profit Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), is an associate fellow at the Institute of Politics (IOP) this semester, where he heads a study-group called "Cyberspace vs. Meatspace: Border Conflicts between the Virtual and the Physical Worlds."

Throughout his eclectic career, Barlow has remained committed to protecting the basic freedoms and principles of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, and it is this dedication that serves as the motivation behind both EFF and Barlow's study group.

"Cyberspace vs. Meatspace" examines how applicable tangible realm laws are for the virtual world of "Cyberspace," which transcends the physical sphere of individual and national borders.

In fact, Barlow's study group often discusses how to protect individual rights in the face of emerging Cyberspace technology.

According to Barlow, his involvement with the Kennedy School of Government (KSG) first began with an invitation from his long-time friend, John F. Kennedy Jr., who at one time worked on Barlow's cattle ranch.

Two years ago, when Kennedy was planning the annual KSG panel discussion commemorating the death of his father, President John F. Kennedy '40, he asked Barlow to be a panelist in order to explain how politics has changed in the computer age.

The panel was titled, "The Media and the Presidential Election," and Barlow spoke about how the computer age will change the entire process of government and politics.

While there, then-head of the KSG Forum Heather Campion, encouraged Barlow to become a fellow. After some consideration, Barlow says he agreed and is now spending the spring semester at KSG.

At Harvard, Barlow combines his considerable knowledge of Cyberspace and the computer world with insights from guest speakers, who include Alan K. Simpson, a life-long friend, director of the IOP and U.S. Senator of Wyoming from 1978 to 1996; Charles R. Nesson '60, Weld Professor of Law at Harvard Law School; and "Acid Phreak," a former member of a group of Internet hackers known as the "Legion of Doom."

It was the Internet friendship between Barlow and "Acid Phreak," which evolved on the computer bulletin board "The Well," that first inspired Barlow to create the EFF.

Barlow says the Electronic Frontier 5Foundation works to protect the "free flow ofinformation [and] essential civil liberties" ofall people, while trying to resolve such problemsas protecting children from exposure to offensivematerials, governing intellectual property rights,determining the extent a country's laws havejurisdiction over the intangible world ofCyberspace and retaining freedom of speech "whilestill permitting recovery for harm" on theInternet.

Barlow says his involvement with the world ofCyberspace started when he decided to writescreenplays in an effort to keep his ranch"afloat."

A friend recommended that he use a wordprocessor rather than a typewriter for hiswriting, and after some time, Barlow bought acomputer, rapidly becoming intrigued with "thestuff in the computer."

This interest, combined with the "virtual"meeting of Acid Phreak, led Barlow to considerCyberspace a "social space instead of a network ofwires, [or a] community in absence of place."

This realization--that a community was emergingwithin the computer world of Cyberspace--madeBarlow consider the ethics and laws that couldrealistically be applied within that space.

Barlow says he began to question "what [people]do in absence of the ability to enforce" laws--asis the case within Cyberspace.

In Cyberspace, the laws of the tangible worlddo not make a smooth transition, and a personalcode of ethics is a better method of maintainingdecency and order, Barlow says.

This optimistic view, that most people areinherently inclined towards honesty and decency,was also a large part of Barlow's focus in hisunsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in hishome state of Wyoming.

"Real conservatism, in my view, is a beliefthat people are essentially good--without theauthority of the state," he says. "[It is a] setof values which I associate with agriculturerather than industry...values of neighborliness,ethics, decency," where a community lives togetherwith a "shared adversity at stake."

This theme also runs throughout Barlow's studygroup, where he debates with anenthusiastically-engaged group of students andguest speakers about the degree of involvement thegovernment should have within Cyberspace, eachweek.

One recent week, the particular focus ofBarlow's study group was the "fair use" ofcopyright laws on the Internet.

One contentious issue was whether copyrightlaws should be remodeled to allow information tobe more accessible--including being placed on theInternet--so that information can be more readilyavailable to a greater number of people, and thusinspire new ideas.

Barlow speaks enthusiastically about hisexperience as an IOP fellow and says he is lookingforward to the possibility of being a fellow atthe Berkman Center for Internet and Society atHarvard Law School next year.

He says his primary reasons for wanting tobecome involved with the Berkman Center is to"exchange ideas" with the law school professorsthere, specifically Nesson, Lawrence Lessig andJonathan Zittrain.

In summing up his opinion of Harvard and histime as a fellow, Barlow says, "I was sopleasantly surprised at the self-effacement andwillingness [of the students] to listen carefully,and more than everything else, the alertness ofthe students. [It gives me a] great sense ofoptimism for the future.

Barlow says his involvement with the world ofCyberspace started when he decided to writescreenplays in an effort to keep his ranch"afloat."

A friend recommended that he use a wordprocessor rather than a typewriter for hiswriting, and after some time, Barlow bought acomputer, rapidly becoming intrigued with "thestuff in the computer."

This interest, combined with the "virtual"meeting of Acid Phreak, led Barlow to considerCyberspace a "social space instead of a network ofwires, [or a] community in absence of place."

This realization--that a community was emergingwithin the computer world of Cyberspace--madeBarlow consider the ethics and laws that couldrealistically be applied within that space.

Barlow says he began to question "what [people]do in absence of the ability to enforce" laws--asis the case within Cyberspace.

In Cyberspace, the laws of the tangible worlddo not make a smooth transition, and a personalcode of ethics is a better method of maintainingdecency and order, Barlow says.

This optimistic view, that most people areinherently inclined towards honesty and decency,was also a large part of Barlow's focus in hisunsuccessful campaign for the U.S. Senate in hishome state of Wyoming.

"Real conservatism, in my view, is a beliefthat people are essentially good--without theauthority of the state," he says. "[It is a] setof values which I associate with agriculturerather than industry...values of neighborliness,ethics, decency," where a community lives togetherwith a "shared adversity at stake."

This theme also runs throughout Barlow's studygroup, where he debates with anenthusiastically-engaged group of students andguest speakers about the degree of involvement thegovernment should have within Cyberspace, eachweek.

One recent week, the particular focus ofBarlow's study group was the "fair use" ofcopyright laws on the Internet.

One contentious issue was whether copyrightlaws should be remodeled to allow information tobe more accessible--including being placed on theInternet--so that information can be more readilyavailable to a greater number of people, and thusinspire new ideas.

Barlow speaks enthusiastically about hisexperience as an IOP fellow and says he is lookingforward to the possibility of being a fellow atthe Berkman Center for Internet and Society atHarvard Law School next year.

He says his primary reasons for wanting tobecome involved with the Berkman Center is to"exchange ideas" with the law school professorsthere, specifically Nesson, Lawrence Lessig andJonathan Zittrain.

In summing up his opinion of Harvard and histime as a fellow, Barlow says, "I was sopleasantly surprised at the self-effacement andwillingness [of the students] to listen carefully,and more than everything else, the alertness ofthe students. [It gives me a] great sense ofoptimism for the future.