There is a major controversy rocking the UK over the far-reaching press gag orders known as “super-injunctions,” especially because they’ve been brought to the fore by a sex scandal between famous footballer Ryan Giggs and reality TV star Imogen Thomas. (This blog post is now officially illegal in the UK.) In [my latest TIME.com Techland post](http://techland.time.com/2011/05/21/twitters-super-duper-u-k-censorship-trouble/), I explain the controversy and say that while the injunction is legally enforceable–Facebook has a London office with over 50 employees, and [today comes word](http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2011/05/twitter-london/) that Twitter is starting up its UK operation–they are not practically enforceable because once out, the information cannot be controlled. I wrote:
>Controlling information is possible, but only at the margin and at great cost. As information technology advances, that margin at which information can be controlled gets thinner and thinner, and the costs of doing so become greater and greater. So given the apparent futility of keeping facts secret, you’d think officials would look to find better ways of confronting the new reality. That’s unfortunately not the case.
>“Why are we assuming that the world of communication, developing as rapidly as it is, can never be brought under control by other technological developments?” asked the head of the U.K.’s judiciary yesterday. “I am not giving up on the possibility that people who in effect peddle lies about others through modern technology may one day be brought under control.”
>And we should not forget to look in the mirror. While the U.S. has some of the world’s most extensive free speech and press liberties, it seems every week there is a new proposal to control what information can be published online.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.