Lawrence Lessig is the James Madison of our current day. He is our most astute systems thinker. When Lawrence Lessig explains that the FCC is doing more harm than good these days — and that it needs to be replaced with a new agency — he will soon have many heads nodding in agreement. In this Newsweek opinion piece Lessig explains in clear terms why we need an Innovation Enviroment Protection Agency (iEPA). He’s not being cute in this nomenclature, either. Innovation thrives in some environments and suffocates in others. It’s government job to make sure that innovation is thriving as much as possible.
Even ten years ago thoughtful people were beginning to say that the FCC should probably be abolished. The FCC came into existence to perform a function. It performed that function fairly well throughtout its lifespan. And now its lifespan has come to and end. We no longer need the FCC — we need something different and better attuned to the realities of innovation and creativity in the digital age.
Although unelected, Lessig is one of our most thoughtful leaders. We would do well to heed his words.
The author is an adjunct professor of education and a technology commentator in the Washington DC-area. He can be reached at philshapiroblogger@gmail.com
(Lessig’s opinion piece has been submitted to Digg here.)