Google, Facebook warn on prospects for regulating internet

Google and Facebook have cautioned against wholesale changes to internet regulation, in a two-day meeting of tech giants, academics and policy makers that failed to deliver a strong message to an upcoming Group of Eight meeting.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told an enthusiastic crowd that while some praise the social network for playing a big role in the Arab uprising, others criticise it for sharing and collecting information on people.

“But it’s hard to have one without the other …. You can’t isolate some things you like about the internet and control other things that you don’t,” the 27-year-old billionaire said.

Google’s Eric Schmidt concurred, according to a Reuters report. “Technology will move faster than governments, so don’t legislate before you understand the consequences.”