Freedom of the Web

July 25, 2011

Freedom of the World Wide Web has been brought to "court" by Emirates Team New Zealand, challenging the America's Cup Event Authority's idea of total control. ETNZ sent out a Request for Mediation on July 18 because they want to have their own online look and feel. Part of the new protocol for AC34 is that the www.americascup.com website will be the only Web outlet to the public for the teams. The look is cookie cutter, using the same template for all.

The idea of having all the team sites on one URL is not new. The Volvo Ocean Race has been doing for years but allows the teams to also have separate sites. The ACEA wants to keep all the content on their site only.

The worst example of total control is for baseball with Major League Baseball creating all the teams' Web presence. Click on www.sfgiants.com or www.ladodgers.com and you will get re-directed to the MLB master site. The only difference to the look is the color of Dodger blue or Giants orange. (Is it a coincidence that on the MLB site at the top are the the words "Powered by Oracle?")

A home page screenshot from http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=sf

Some related links:
ETNZ press release: www.emiratesteamnz.com/news/2011/7/18/etnz-disputes-web-site-restrictions.aspx
ETNZ's own website: www.emiratesteamnz.com
The official AC34 ETNZ site: www.americascup.com/en/Teams/Emirates-Team-New-Zealand/Latest
AC34 Aretmis site: www.americascup.com/en/Teams/Artemis-Racing/Latest
SF Giants site: http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/index.jsp?c_id=sf
Request for Mediation: Download PDF.