HR 46: Wiretapping, Forfeiture, Crypto Penalties

Thank you, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Ut.). You've taken the inoffensive "Public Safety Medal of Valor" bill and quietly tacked on an amendment that does oh-so-much more. Wiretapping to record email and phone conversations of people suspected of computer crime (who needs that Fourth Amendment anyway?). Forfeiture (before you are convicted or even charged) of "devices used in ... intellectual property theft." And extra penalties for using crypto, nice way to stigmatize an entire industry there. Dave Kopel's analysis is at Cryptome, along with the bill text, etc.

Comments

More information

[DunkPonch]

Kopel's National Review article on the same subject.

The Independence Institute -- Kopel's organization. Note that the link on this page has the following quote regarding the bill:

Note: the bill's sponsors have recently agreed to remove all objectionable items, except for the encryption provision

We Need Bill Moderation

[wulfe]

Section 304 (Score:-4, Offtopic) Bill invalidated.

Weird take at it

[nharmon]

Is Mr. Hatch representing Utah residents? I mean honestly, there are a lot of conservative people who are afraid of the internet in Utah. But I think the important thing that we need to emphasize is that even the PEOPLE can have opinions which undermine our basic rights. That's why I love living in a republic. En mass, people are dumb, and make dumb decisions,... but with a republic, we get a lot more common sense thrown into the mix. Here is what I'm doing. I'm writing my congressman, and telling him what I think about Mr. Hatch's agenda. And that I would appreciate being represented on this issue.

As a Utahn, let me tell you how it is

[eclectro]

Recently Mr. Hatch ran for re-election. It was clear to me how important it was to inform voters of the choice they were about to make. For those of you that don't know, Hatch was one of the primary sponsers of the CTEA, DMCA, and a bill to extend the life of the drug patent Claritin (as he used their corporate jet to fly around while running for president). He was planning on sneaking it through like this legislation till his ass got caught.

So, I went to the local Linux Users Group and stood up at the meeting (only a dozen people show up) and asked for help in organizing against Hatch. As I was talking it was apparent by the way they were looking at their shoes that there was complete disinterest in doing anything, and that they were going to vote for Hatch anyway.

The fact of the matter is that people vote for Hatch because "they are supposed to". One state representative went so far as to say that you "can't be a mormon and vote for a democrat at the same time," (exact words). Whether you are a mormon or not, Hatch is seen as "church endorsed" and the mormon church carries enough influence to affect any election they want to. There are many "heriditary republicans" that will vote republican on election day no matter what, without giving it a second thought. Also, there is a large segment that will vote for Hatch as he is pro-NRA, and everybody loves their guns here. Take all this together and you can see why he got re-elected by a landslide.

Utahns are being raped left and right by bad political representation on the local level as well. Our taxes and utilites are going up, as the legislature did away with the public commision that oversees utility rates (the bill was written by the local gas utility)

The only question is how hard do Utahns want to scream before they've had enough???

If you live in Salt Lake County, and want to organize, email me kphil@hotmail.com

Make Congress Work

[Sabalon]

Rather than passing line-item veto, they should pass something that says any rider tacked on must be related to the main bill.

Congress says they tack things on to cut down on the amount of meetings they have to have about bills...so what.

They are getting paid a LOT of money and were elected cause they lied to say the wanted to make America a better place. Fine...get off your ass and out of meetings with special interest groups and do something.

Make the salary of a congressman equal to the average salary of the American worker, and then we'll get the right kind of people in there.

Re:Make Congress Work

[Janthkin]

They are getting paid a LOT of money and were elected cause they lied to say the wanted to make America a better place. Fine...get off your ass and out of meetings with special interest groups and do something.

Make the salary of a congressman equal to the average salary of the American worker, and then we'll get the right kind of people in there.

I'm afraid you've got it wrong, my friend. Congress Critters aren't paid ENOUGH to be common men, not vice-versa. Why? Well, I believe that Congress people are paid $120,000/year. What do they have to do with that? Well, first off they must maintain a residence in their home state. This isn't a cheap prospect, as likely many of them WILL keep their primary residence there (unlike Hillary...). Then, they must maintain a residence in Washington, D.C. One of the most expensive real estate markets in the whole world. Then, they have the travel costs between their two homes. Finally, tack in all the costs of just plain living (food, gas, etc.). What you have is an amount that a common man (w/o a huge pre-existing bank account) can't hope to match on a $120,000/year salary.

One story I heard involved three Representatives from some state who WERE your average American workers. They were sharing a one-bedroom apartment in Washington, as that's all they could afford.

Before you go and complain about something like this, it's useful to get the facts straight.

Wtf?

[the Man in Black]

Among these offenses are making false statements on student-loan applications or passport applications. 18 U.S.C. sec. 2516(1).

Great. So I can get my house wire-tapped, computer(s) seized, and e-mail (and all other 'electronic' communication) read because someone suspects that I made a false statement on a student loan application? This does not bode well...

What can we do to get this thing killed?

--Just Another Pimp A$$ Perl Hacker

PLEASE WRITE YOUR REP

[gdbear]

Please do us all a favor, write to your house Rep HERE

Just my $.02
Take the time, write something meaningful and express how much you dislike this bill.
Thanks in advance

Re:Isn't HR46 dead?

[phil reed]

You need to watch CSPAN more. A "unanimous consent" thing happens all the time. Basically a unanimous consent agreement flies up, and somebody has to object, verbally, within about 5 seconds. If nobody does, it's considered agreed to. Most of the time, it's a harmless little maneuver that allows somebody to 'revise and extend' their remarks for the Congressional Record. Sometimes, it's used in a more nefarious manner.


...phil

Re:Illinois did something right

[cube farmer]

California, Colorado, Maryland, Florida, and several other states have a similar single subject requirement for legislation. The scope in each state varies; sometimes the single subject rules apply only to acts of the legislature, other times only to the acts of the people in a referendum, still other times to both.

If your state doesn't have such a rule, the Hastings School of Law has information about making a change.

In an admittedly short search, I couldn't find any current movement to enact a federal single subject law or constitutional ammendment. I believe such a rule is necessary to avoid repeats of just such actions as those of Senator Hatch, despite what this guy has to say about it.

This sort of thing is not new; I am, frankly, surprised that there isn't more of an outcry for federal single subject rules. I guess the people who work the system for a living don't want it to change.

I just got off the phone w/my congressman's office

[mbourgon]

I just called my congressman's office (Joe Barton, fwiw), and according to them, there is some good news.
The bill passed the House on the 15th, so don't bother calling. However, a different version was passed in the Senate, which would mean that it has to get sent back (House & Senate must pass identical versions of the bill) to the House, which has already recessed. So, in order for it to get passed it would have to get reintroduced next year. We'll have to look into this next year. But there's no need to call. (It passed on the 15th)