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Congress May Consider Mandatory ISP Snooping

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the nosy-brother dept.

An anonymous reader writes to mention a News.com story covering a most disquieting trend in the House of Representatives. From the article: "Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette's proposal says that any Internet service that 'enables users to access content' must permanently retain records that would permit police to identify each user. The records could not be discarded until at least one year after the user's account was closed. It's not clear whether that requirement would be limited only to e-mail providers and Internet providers such as DSL (digital subscriber line) or cable modem services. An expansive reading of DeGette's measure would require every Web site to retain those records."

3 of 310 comments (clear)

  1. Retired Sandra O'Connor warned us.... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 4, Informative

    The we may be seeing the beginnings of a dictatorship here in the United States. We should heed her warnings.

  2. WTF? 86 - 100% approval rating from the ACLU? by billybob2 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Apparently Diana DeGette received 86 - 100% approval ratings from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in the past 6 years, according to Vote-Smart.org

    How can this apparently high approval rating from a purported supporter of civil liberties be reconciled with Rep. Degette's recent anti-privacy action? Was the ACLU on crack when they scored her?

    1. Re:WTF? 86 - 100% approval rating from the ACLU? by zCyl · · Score: 3, Informative

      How can this apparently high approval rating from a purported supporter of civil liberties be reconciled with Rep. Degette's recent anti-privacy action? Was the ACLU on crack when they scored her?

      It appears from her own words that a representative from the DOJ told her a carefully constructed sob story about child pornography, complete with anecdote about how this precise law would have saved a child, and including the availability fallacy. She says she considered this "eye-opening", and so apparently she believes she drafted this law "for the children".

      In other words, this bill was lobbied for by the DOJ by means of emotional appeal. It probably hasn't occured to Diana DeGette yet to consider how internet anonymity can be a potent tool for the longterm preservation of freedom in a democracy. Perhaps a few sob stories about China would be "eye-opening" to her. *nudges people from Colorado to action*