Speech Will be Speech

Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said Wednesday that attempts by governments to censor Web site contents were doomed, because banned information can seep out despite official injunctions.

"The ability to really withhold information no longer exists," Gates told a government forum on the Internet.

Gates said his company must comply with legal requirements in the countries where it operates.

Late last year, Microsoft shut down the site of a popular Chinese blogger at Beijing's request. The blog by Zhao Jing, writing under the pen name An Ti, appraised sensitive topics such as China's relations with Taiwan and media freedoms in China.

This is a good thing, but it makes me wonder: if it's going to seep out anyway, why are people (like the Google folks) so fired up about efforts to eliminate porn on the 'net? It ain't gonna work, so why all the hub-bub? I'm being a bit facetious here, but it's legitimate to ask: Given the deleterious effects of porn, doesn't it make sense for our society to make efforts to fight it, knowing that, no matter what, the efforts can't squelch it entirely? After all, if it is a type of speech (it isn't), it will still reach those who value it.

There are lots of issues with this line of argument, so I'm not advocating it, but I am asking the question.