IMO IMO IMO IMO

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Save the Internets, continued

Here's an e-mail I sent out recently that was copter-worthy:
I've e-mailed some of you before about the internet and certain
governmental threats against it... There's yet more on the floor to fight
against in terms of personal liberties, particularly in the realm of
privacy law. The internet, as always, is fertile ground for debate in
terms of how much the government should be in control of it, monitoring
it, etc.

Currently there is a bill introduced that would, as I understand it,
require Internet Service Providers to retain records of its customers'
usage of the internet... where they go, how often, etc. However, due to
the loose wordage of the documents, it could theoretically allow for the
abuse of requiring the logging of internet chat/instant message content,
retention of IP address information (who you are and where you went), even
the retention of the content of your e-mail addresses.

I don't care if you're a saint and all you do is use the internet to cure
people's blindness... our rights to privacy and the government not keeping
intricate tabs on our every movement are invaluable, and it is our job as
citizens to fight for our liberties against anyone who chooses to infringe
upon them. This bill may seem harmless, and maybe it is (meant simply to
find child pornographers and pedophiles, murderers, and the like), but the
fact of the matter is that the few who act out inappropriately should
never be used as excuses to monitor and control the rest of us. This is a
constant battle that will never be over, and the internet is by no means
the only battleground. This bill is really only the tip of the iceberg,
anyway! But we always need to know what's going on at Capital (sic) Hill.

If you think I'm ranting and this is unimportant or over the top, you can
simply disregard this. It's really a lot easier to hit the "delete"
button.

Here is an article from BoingBoing.net that includes links to articles and
the bill itself:

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/07/onerous_data_retenti.html

And remember; Just because we have a Democrat-majority doesn't mean we can
sit back and relax. It is a Democrat who is the largest proponent of the
bill.

Forward this on to anyone you think might be interested.

Sam


COPTER UPDATE - an e-mail from Jordan:

http://nymag.com/news/features/27341/ is a New York Magazine article that is seperate but related.

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