"Book-pilferage Is Not Banditry"

Abstract

Recent advance in information technology has enhanced information interchange all over the world. The paper uses a Chinese saying of "book-pilferage is not banditry" to illustrate that technology is only one of many factors in information interchange. Economic, political, legal and any of many other factors could censor information flow. Technology alone cannot mandate information flow. However, technology has the power to moderate the economic, political, legal and other cultural biases to enable the society to become more open to information interchange as a result.