I'm not too concerned about the future of the internet, because the disruptors, the tinkerers, and the people who really know how to make things work are, by and large, on the side of freedom (of code, of access, and of thought).

The people who really want to lock-down and control technology generally aren't the ones who know the most about it - even if they're the ones who create it; someone obsessive will find out more. What's more, they'll do it not for money, nor fame, nor influence, but because it's fun.

The hackers of this world are tinkerers. They want to understand how things work, and see if they can do something different. Tricking a computer into letting you access what someone else said that you can't is a challenge, the same as tricking floppy drives onto playing the Imperial March. Restrictions imposed by governments or hardware manufacturers won't stop these people from doing what they want to. The restrictions will just make it harder for everyone else, though.

Luckily for us, some of these tinkerers are willing to share their work, in forms like the TOR Project, or even just general awareness. They won't be stopped by bad legislation. Freedoms are important to them, and we all reap the benefits. No matter what restrictions are enforced, there'll always be someone, somewhere, who will find a way around them.

I'm not complacent about it, though. We should be fighting corporations, politicians, and countries that believe that the internet should be controlled. We should be fighting for openness, and fairness; fighting for the right to access what and when we want; fighting to break out of this absurd idea that the internet, and indeed technology itself, should be conforming to old-world models of business or geography. We need to fight for these things, because they are the future, and we need to make sure that we don't allow anyone to artificially wall us in. We need to fight because the tinkerers might not fight for us forever.

If we don't fight for freedoms, we risk being left behind. Those in the know won't always throw us a line. Access may become difficult, and it might be nearly impossible to feel free. You may not be able to live on the web as you currently do.

But the internet will be just fine.