hanging it up
I do not know what to think right now, so I think I will do something else.
I read an article today, (yeah, again), regarding efforts to control kiddie porn on the internet.
First let me say that I am all for ridding ourselves of the scourge of people who would use a child in that way. I have no compassion for them, the truth is that I simply do not want to share a planet with them. Period.
Read the article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5123936.stm
Now that I have made that disclaimer, there were a couple of points that raised my curiousity a bit. In the text of the article, Attorney General Gonzales said "that he was investigating ways to ensure that ISPs retain records of a user's web activities to track down offenders. "
Now that bothers me.
I can see the day, not too far in the future, when one might be subject to legal scrutiny and proceedings for visiting a non-patriotic website, say, the Democratic Party.com. I do not care to have all my explorations be subject to the approval of someone else.
Another point that caught my somewhat jaundiced and paranoid eye is a concept being backed by the Technology Coalition, (including Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL/Time-Warner, Earthlink and others), the notion of maintaining a database of images that would be routinely scanned for in e-mails and downloads. It is hard to argue against searching for kiddie-porn, (like arguing against searching for weapons before boarding an airplane), but I will anyway. Why must personal correspondence, data files, and yes, digitized pictures be scanned for on the open internet. It flies in the face of the presumption of innocence, it can be compared to something like arbitrary searches on interstate highways, on the grounds that the highways are a potentially efficient means of transporting contraband.
And while I am at it, does the fact that various data files can be identified as to type of file, (e-mail, image, video, streaming audio, etc) as well as the content bother anyone? This technology exists, the capability is in place. This is not a potential threat, it is a clear and present danger to our liberties.
If this type of monitoring is legal, then what is to stop whoever from monitoring the text and content of letters and the data contained in spreadsheets, in the name of prevention of what-kind-of-crime?
A separate issue that dovetails nicely with this one is the failure of the House or Senate to enact an internet neutrality provision in upcoming legislation. That will permit ISP's and backbone providers to block or significantly slow any traffic that they do not get revenue from. it is that simple. The rationale for this is that it is soooooooo expensive for these giants to provide service that they really cannot afford to subsidize those companies that transmit content across the net to not pay a fee. The battle currently pits gianst like Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and AOL against the other giants, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. That fact alone makes this a fight worth watching.
Another point to ponder is that all these companies are American. Yes, they are the giants of the industry, but why is there no participation or backing from other nations? Why do no other countries have such a policy, except China, North Korea and Iran? Might it be that the sitting government has a vested interest in this surveillance?
I used to believe that the end was near. It might have been at some point, but the end has already happened. We, as individuals, have no points of reference to help us think this through.
Law? The law is what the guys with the guns and the money say it is. The Constitution? Gone and forgotten. Before too long, even the maintenance of the veneer of democracy will cease to be productive, and then we will see what happens next.
Happy Independence Day!!
update 1:
to all who use the G00gle toolbar, you are already building the database of image files that will eventually police the internet. the application, known as Picasa, (sp?), searches your hard drive(s) and catalogs the images that it finds and passes that data on to the mothership. in the not too distant future, you may get an embarrassing knock on the door by the morality police because something on your drive matched the profile of something known to be naughty.
be careful, big brother and his sisters, mother, uncles and cousins are all watching you. right now. they know you are reading this.
I read an article today, (yeah, again), regarding efforts to control kiddie porn on the internet.
First let me say that I am all for ridding ourselves of the scourge of people who would use a child in that way. I have no compassion for them, the truth is that I simply do not want to share a planet with them. Period.
Read the article here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5123936.stm
Now that I have made that disclaimer, there were a couple of points that raised my curiousity a bit. In the text of the article, Attorney General Gonzales said "that he was investigating ways to ensure that ISPs retain records of a user's web activities to track down offenders. "
Now that bothers me.
I can see the day, not too far in the future, when one might be subject to legal scrutiny and proceedings for visiting a non-patriotic website, say, the Democratic Party.com. I do not care to have all my explorations be subject to the approval of someone else.
Another point that caught my somewhat jaundiced and paranoid eye is a concept being backed by the Technology Coalition, (including Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL/Time-Warner, Earthlink and others), the notion of maintaining a database of images that would be routinely scanned for in e-mails and downloads. It is hard to argue against searching for kiddie-porn, (like arguing against searching for weapons before boarding an airplane), but I will anyway. Why must personal correspondence, data files, and yes, digitized pictures be scanned for on the open internet. It flies in the face of the presumption of innocence, it can be compared to something like arbitrary searches on interstate highways, on the grounds that the highways are a potentially efficient means of transporting contraband.
And while I am at it, does the fact that various data files can be identified as to type of file, (e-mail, image, video, streaming audio, etc) as well as the content bother anyone? This technology exists, the capability is in place. This is not a potential threat, it is a clear and present danger to our liberties.
If this type of monitoring is legal, then what is to stop whoever from monitoring the text and content of letters and the data contained in spreadsheets, in the name of prevention of what-kind-of-crime?
A separate issue that dovetails nicely with this one is the failure of the House or Senate to enact an internet neutrality provision in upcoming legislation. That will permit ISP's and backbone providers to block or significantly slow any traffic that they do not get revenue from. it is that simple. The rationale for this is that it is soooooooo expensive for these giants to provide service that they really cannot afford to subsidize those companies that transmit content across the net to not pay a fee. The battle currently pits gianst like Microsoft, Yahoo, Google and AOL against the other giants, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint. That fact alone makes this a fight worth watching.
Another point to ponder is that all these companies are American. Yes, they are the giants of the industry, but why is there no participation or backing from other nations? Why do no other countries have such a policy, except China, North Korea and Iran? Might it be that the sitting government has a vested interest in this surveillance?
I used to believe that the end was near. It might have been at some point, but the end has already happened. We, as individuals, have no points of reference to help us think this through.
Law? The law is what the guys with the guns and the money say it is. The Constitution? Gone and forgotten. Before too long, even the maintenance of the veneer of democracy will cease to be productive, and then we will see what happens next.
Happy Independence Day!!
update 1:
to all who use the G00gle toolbar, you are already building the database of image files that will eventually police the internet. the application, known as Picasa, (sp?), searches your hard drive(s) and catalogs the images that it finds and passes that data on to the mothership. in the not too distant future, you may get an embarrassing knock on the door by the morality police because something on your drive matched the profile of something known to be naughty.
be careful, big brother and his sisters, mother, uncles and cousins are all watching you. right now. they know you are reading this.
posted by eccentric recluse at 6:15 AM
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