Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

ISP Tracking Legislation Hits the House

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the someone-is-always-watching-in-your-hotel dept.

cnet-declan writes "CNET News.com reports that Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives announced yesterday legislation to force ISPs to keep track of what their users are doing. It's part of the Republicans 'law and order agenda,' with other components devoted to the death penalty, gangs, and terrorists. Attorney General Gonzales would be permitted to force Internet providers to keep logs of Web browsing, instant message exchanges, and e-mail conversations indefinitely. The draft bill is available online, and it also includes mandatory Web labeling for sexually explicit pages. The idea enjoys bipartisan support: a Colorado Democrat has been the most ardent supporter in the entire Congress."

4 of 332 comments (clear)

  1. Guess it's time to stop using the internet by the_humeister · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You know, I'd like find out what kind of porn or other illicit sites these legislators are surfing and then dredge that up those records to news agencies. See how that flies in their faces.

  2. Won't somebody please think of the children! by aborchers · · Score: 5, Insightful

    This is just sick. Every time I hear this shrill siren about protecting the children I know they're coming for another liberty.

    I, for one, don't want my kids growing up in a country run by the thought police.

    --
    Trouble making decisions? Just flip for it.
    1. Re:Won't somebody please think of the children! by sconeu · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Didn't you know that "Child Porn" is the root password to the US Constitution?

      With "Terrorism" and "Think of the Children" as the alternates?

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  3. Re:huh? by Tackhead · · Score: 5, Insightful
    > Why don't they just put everyone in prison? Then we wouldn't have any crime at all. Problem solved.

    The Party's goal isn't to eliminate crime by throwing everyone in jail -- it's to eliminate people who piss it off by merely being able to throw anyone in jail.

    "Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against - then you'll know that this is not the age for beautiful gestures. We're after power and we mean it. You fellows were pikers, but we know the real trick, and you'd better get wise to it. There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals, one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens' What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced nor objectively interpreted - and you create a nation of law-breakers - and then you cash in on guilt."

    - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957

    You don't have to like Rand to apppreciate that she was onto something when it came to how governments think during the design phase of legislation.