Some people argue it is good that information is shared as much as possible in the scientific, business and academic worlds, while others claim some information should not be shared freely because of its great importance or value. I agree with the latter viewpoint because making important information freely available hinders innovation.
On the one hand, increasing transparency in important areas helps to solve global problems more quickly. Take, for example, the U.S. biotechnology company Moderna. If it shared its mRNA Covid-19 technology with the rest of the world without charge, the pandemic would end soon. However, I think this means that inventors of new products would not be able to receive the attention and financial returns they deserve, which would discourage them from continuing to innovate. The worst scenario is that the next time the world faces an emergent problem, no one would even try to solve it.
On the other hand, sharing valuable information without any restriction stifles innovation. If a company’s latest technology could be accessed freely by their competitors, they could easily create similar products to compete with them. This would make the money and effort devoted to creating the technology not worthwhile. As a result, the company might stop inventing and also become a copycat. Since humanity will not go forward if we no longer innovate, I think it is extremely important for those who have dreamed up new products to keep valuable knowledge to themselves.
In conclusion, even though sharing important information freely might make it possible for international issues to be solved more quickly, I believe doing so suppresses innovation and thus should not be allowed.