Why I Have Joined ALCEI
by Bruce Sterling
My name is Bruce Sterling and I am an author and journalist from
Austin, Texas, USA. On December 3 1994 I joined a group called
"Associazione per la liberta' nella comunicazione elettronica interattiva."
Not only did I join ALCEI, but I have paid my dues in full!
One might well wonder why a writer from far-away Texas should join
such a group. After all, I don't speak Italian. I even have difficulty
correctly pronouncing the word "ALCEI." I am an American citizen and have
no right, need, or intention to interfere in the internal political affairs
of the Republic of Italy. When it comes to the issue of electronic
interactive communication, there is plenty going on in my own United States
-- more than any one person can possibly encompass and understand.
I am nevertheless intensely interested in electronic affairs in Italy
-- an interest which has grown, almost despite myself, during the past
year.
There are several reasons. One is that Italy is the first country in the
world whose government is being run by a television mogul. I make no
judgement whether his policies or are good or bad for the Republic of Italy
or the well-being of its citizens. I would point out that it is not unusual
for the power-structure of a government to reflect the major sources of
power, money and influence in its economy. As society moves from material
industrial power to informatic post-industrial power, it seems only likely
that a television tycoon could become a head of state.
Will Italy be the only country in the world to have such a political
development? I very much doubt this. On the contrary, I suspect that
in this instance Italy has become a political laboratory for the future
of the rest of the world.
In 1992, I wrote a book called *HACKER CRACKDOWN: Law and Disorder
on the Electronic Frontier.* In Italian it was published as *Giro di Vite
Contro Gli Hacker.* Much of this book involved an American police
operation called "Operation Sundevil," which took place in 1990 and
involved police seizure of bulletin board systems. I considered this a very
important matter, so much so that I devoted a year and a half of my life to
researching and writing on the topic.
In Italy, however, in May 1994, Italian police launched an attack on
Italian bulletin board systems that was at least twice the size of
Operation Sundevil and may have been five times as large. This was the
largest police seizure of bulletin board systems in world history. Italian
police may not have been the first to carry out large-scale attacks on
bulletin board systems, but they have done it with more gusto than anyone
else in the world.
