There's an inverse correlation between the regulation of speech and the freedom of a society.

This strikes me as false, and it also seems to be indicative of the glibness of the "net booster" crowd (I agree with much what is said, but extreme statements like this just undermine the argument).

Is a society freer if a merchant is allowed to communicate the desirability of cigarettes to school children, perhaps with speech that he has paid to have delivered to their classrooms? That's pretty damn free, isn't it?

You could go on on in that vein. But what's the point? The techno-uptopians like Docotorow and Sears are just too exhausting.