Much has been said about the development of the Internet as an organic platform that has increased public debate. However, Alexander Cockburn argues that the Internet is not a public space. It is private commercial space, which means that any website can be pulled down by a corporate or government decision, at any time. A lot of the stuff about the web is hype. But the core thing, if you are talking about politics and power, is that it's resolutely private, contends Cockburn.