--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I must confess that I've never trusted…" description: "\"I must confess that I've never trusted the Web. I've always seen it as a coward's tool. Where does it live? How do you hold it personally responsible? ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/stephen-colbert-503_cables_i-must-confess-that-i-ve-never-trusted-t_1184551.png" --- # I must confess that I've never trusted the Web. I've… ![“I must confess that I've never trusted the Web. I've always seen it as a coward's tool. Where does it live? How do you hold it personally responsible? Can you put a distributed network of fiber-optic cable "on notice"? And is it male or female? In other words, can I challenge it to a fight?” quote by Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/stephen-colbert-503_cables_i-must-confess-that-i-ve-never-trusted-t_1184551.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/stephen-colbert-503_cables_i-must-confess-that-i-ve-never-trusted-t_1184551.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/87e/stephen-colbert-503_cables_i-must-confess-that-i-ve-never-trusted-t_1184551.png) > “I must confess that I've never trusted the Web. I've always seen it as a coward's tool. Where does it live? How do you hold it personally responsible? Can you put a distributed network of fiber-optic cable "on notice"? And is it male or female? In other words, can I challenge it to a fight?” [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote questions the accountability of the internet, treating it as an abstract, impersonal entity that cannot be held responsible like a person. **In simple terms:** The internet cannot be blamed like a person. Key Takeaway Recognize the limits of attributing moral agency to technology. Themes technology responsibility personification media criticism Mood skeptical critical inquisitive Type commentary philosophical When to use this quote - legal debates - policy making - digital ethics education - public discourse - technology design Key Concepts anthropomorphism ethical accountability network theory Questions to Reflect On - Who should be responsible for online harms? - How does personifying technology affect regulation? A Different Perspective The internet does have operators and policies that can be held accountable, even if the network itself is not a person. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cable Notice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cable-notice-3488175/) [Cables](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cables/) [Challenges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/challenges/) [Coward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward/) [Coward Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coward-tool-3488174/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Female](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/female/) [Fiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiber/) [Fiber Optic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fiber-optic-976657/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Males](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/males/) [Network Fiber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/network-fiber-3488173/) [Never trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never-trust/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsible/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) [Trusted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trusted/) [Trusted Web](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trusted-web-3488172/) ## Related quotes > [“Microwave technology allowed the transmission of data in 4.13 milliseconds, 95 percent of the theoretical speed of light. The chain of towers would replace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-russinovich/microwave-technology-allowed-the-transmission-of-data-in-4-13/) [Mark Russinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-russinovich/) > [India lives in several centuries at the same time. Every night outside my house I pass a road gang of emaciated laborers digging a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/india-lives-in-several-centuries-at-the-same-time-every-night-outside/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [The Costa Rican government is prioritizing laying fiber optic over paving roads. Costa Rica is trying to become one of the Internet societies. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reed-hastings/the-costa-rican-government-is-prioritizing-laying-fiber-optic-over/) [Reed Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reed-hastings/) > [Never trust a preacher with more than two suits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-bruce/never-trust-a-preacher-with-more-than-two-suits/) [Lenny Bruce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-bruce/) > [never trust a man who won't accept that there is more than one way to spell a word Paraphrased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/never-trust-a-man-who-won-t-accept-that-there-is-more-than-one-way-to/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Never trust a man in a jumpsuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/never-trust-a-man-in-a-jumpsuit/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [The apples stewed with prunes are excellent, except for the prunes, I won't eat prunes myself. Well, there was one time when Hobb chopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-apples-stewed-with-prunes-are-excellent-except-for-the-prunes-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ratings agencies are highly conflicted, unimaginative dupes. They are blissfully unaware of adverse selection and moral hazard. Investors should never trust them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-klarman/ratings-agencies-are-highly-conflicted-unimaginative-dupes-they-are/) [Seth Klarman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-klarman/) > [Never trust the artist. Trust the tale. The proper function of the critic is to save the tale from the artist who created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/never-trust-the-artist-trust-the-tale-the-proper-function-of-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [I'm an actor. Never trust an actor, whatever their energy is. I suppose you guys see that side of me, but I'm sure there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-m-an-actor-never-trust-an-actor-whatever-their-energy-is-i-suppose/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [Never trust anyone who has no doubts. And I'm not talking about scepticism either: scepticism can be a healthy thing. You can have an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-bragg/never-trust-anyone-who-has-no-doubts-and-i-m-not-talking-about/) [Billy Bragg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-bragg/) > [You may trust the Lord too little, but you can never trust Him too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/you-may-trust-the-lord-too-little-but-you-can-never-trust-him-too-much/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/never-trust-the-storyteller-only-trust-the-story/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Never trust people that like to call things by initials, that's my philosophy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tad-williams/never-trust-people-that-like-to-call-things-by-initials-that-s-my/) [Tad Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tad-williams/) > [Never trust anything you read in a travel article.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/never-trust-anything-you-read-in-a-travel-article/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) ## More by Stephen Colbert > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/cynicism-masquerades-as-wisdom-but-it-is-the-farthest-thing-from-it/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [We all deserve credit for this new surveillance state that we live in because we the people voted for the Patriot Act. Democrats and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/we-all-deserve-credit-for-this-new-surveillance-state-that-we-live-in/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I've long been against illegal aliens, partly because they distract us from an even bigger threat: real aliens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-ve-long-been-against-illegal-aliens-partly-because-they-distract-us/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Believe in me, cause I don't believe in anything, and I wanna be someone to believe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/believe-in-me-cause-i-don-t-believe-in-anything-and-i-wanna-be/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [It's August, which means Congress is on recess and Mitch McConnell has shimmied back into the ocean to seek a mate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/it-s-august-which-means-congress-is-on-recess-and-mitch-mcconnell-has/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Try to love others and serve others and hopefully find those who love and serve you in return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/try-to-love-others-and-serve-others-and-hopefully-find-those-who-love/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Thirty seconds is the exact amount of time Americans can tolerate something they don't understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/thirty-seconds-is-the-exact-amount-of-time-americans-can-tolerate/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I used to make up stuff in my bio all the time, that I used to be a professional ice-skater and stuff like that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-used-to-make-up-stuff-in-my-bio-all-the-time-that-i-used-to-be-a/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [I live by syllogisms: God is love. Love is blind. Stevie Wonder is blind. Therefore, Stevie Wonder is God. I don't know what I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/i-live-by-syllogisms-god-is-love-love-is-blind-stevie-wonder-is-blind/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Unlike Paul Newman, who seems to think that salad dressing is the cure-all for America's ills, I'm a man of action.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/unlike-paul-newman-who-seems-to-think-that-salad-dressing-is-the-cure/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Now, for my younger viewers out there, a book is something we used to have before the internet. It’s sort of a blog for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/now-for-my-younger-viewers-out-there-a-book-is-something-we-used-to/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/jesus-forgives-sinners-not-criminals/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Used books are the sluts of the literary world. Passed around from person to person, spreading their pages for anyone, getting cheaper and cheaper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/used-books-are-the-sluts-of-the-literary-world-passed-around-from/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [“Divorce is a marital welfare. It's just couples asking society to bail them out because they didn't do enough research before they got married.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/divorce-is-a-marital-welfare-it-s-just-couples-asking-society-to-bail/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) [Explore all 514 Stephen Colbert quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) ## More Cables quotes > [I told our guys they must not have cable because Antoine Walker knows how to play, Derek Anderson can play, Shandon Anderson knows how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaquille-o-neal/i-told-our-guys-they-must-not-have-cable-because-antoine-walker-knows/) [Shaquille O'Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shaquille-o-neal/) > [What Cable is up to is not something that can be done quietly. It will raise the interest of some pretty important people and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeph-loeb/what-cable-is-up-to-is-not-something-that-can-be-done-quietly-it-will/) [Jeph Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeph-loeb/) > [I don't control the schedule of the networks. We have three of our debates that are on network television, and those are on Saturday…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-don-t-control-the-schedule-of-the-networks-we-have-three-of-our/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [If you're working on better conditions for prisoners, if you make that a popular issue and you invite mainstream media to weigh in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/if-you-re-working-on-better-conditions-for-prisoners-if-you-make-that/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [When you talk about President Trump, the cable networks turned over so many hours of prime time to him. Why? Because he was entertaining,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-gore/when-you-talk-about-president-trump-the-cable-networks-turned-over-so/) [Al Gore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-gore/) > [I just think there's more paparazzi, there's more cable TV, there's millions of networks now, there's more paparazzi. People liked gossip then, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-just-think-there-s-more-paparazzi-there-s-more-cable-tv-there-s/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I knew I wanted to be used by God in big ways. I always prayed He would trust me enough to use me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-robertson/i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-used-by-god-in-big-ways-i-always-prayed-he/) [Kay Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-robertson/) > [Cable is not bound because people pay for it. It's literally a choice, that's the operative word. If you don't like the language, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-williams/cable-is-not-bound-because-people-pay-for-it-it-s-literally-a-choice/) [Robin Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-williams/) > [I like to multitask. I love the process of the storytelling in television. I love the serial. Even my stab at doing a procedural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-d-williamson/i-like-to-multitask-i-love-the-process-of-the-storytelling-in/) [Kevin D. 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Everyone's going to have to deal with Disney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eisner/it-doesn-t-matter-whether-it-comes-in-by-cable-telephone-lines/) [Michael Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eisner/) > [There's nothing terribly wrong with The November Man in a serviceable late-night cable TV sort of way but neither is there anything terribly right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-berardinelli/there-s-nothing-terribly-wrong-with-the-november-man-in-a-serviceable/) [James Berardinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-berardinelli/) > [India lives in several centuries at the same time. Every night outside my house I pass a road gang of emaciated laborers digging a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/india-lives-in-several-centuries-at-the-same-time-every-night-outside/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) > [I've been doing It's Aways Sunny for 12 years, and so I have this cable sensibility. When I read the Grinder script, I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-elizabeth-ellis/i-ve-been-doing-it-s-aways-sunny-for-12-years-and-so-i-have-this/) [Mary Elizabeth Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-elizabeth-ellis/) [Browse all 275 Cables quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cables/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I must confess that I've never trusted the Web. I've always seen it as a coward's tool. Where does it live? How do you hold it personally responsible? Can you put a distributed network of fiber-optic cable \"on notice\"? And is it male or female? 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