Wired notes that the BBC will soon open its vast archives, starting with nature programming, to web consumers. Only in the UK, though; people coming in from foreign IP addresses will be blocked. The article is particularly interesting in its detailing of just what a "content owner" actually has to go through in the current world of intellectual property regulations to make something like this available for use.

There is something deeply wrong with having national boundaries define who can and can't access something in cyberspace. The BBC should allow foreigners access to its content for an annual fee equivalent to what British TV owners pay. In the meantime, proxies, anybody?

Posted by: Jane Shevtsov on June 17, 2004 9:08 AM