"Perhaps the most sinister part of Microsoft's concept (something that Levy glosses over) is that it 'stops viruses and worms. Palladium won't run unauthorized programs, so viruses can't trash protected parts of your system.'... [To] hear Redmond tell it, what we really need is some expensive and Draconian ghost in the machine to break applications of which the company, or its partners, or the government, or Hollywood, disapproves.
"In short, under the feel-good guise of 'enhanced security' and 'new features for customers' (and despite being found guilty of monopoly), Microsoft still wants to rule all it surveys. In essence, Palladium can be interpreted as Microsoft's attempt to play God. Again...
"Savvy consumers should be very concerned that Palladium will mean that their computers and information are no longer under their positive control but rather under the omnipresent surveillance and enforcement of a third party more interested in turning a profit than empowering their customers to think and act for themselves. The computer will essentially become a tool of surveillance, judgment and control over users, rather than a tool of innovation, communication, and enlightenment."
