Tuesday, November 26, 2002

Contradictory? Never. Everyone knows that Might makes right. With his, or any boss, JA must tow the line. 1997: John Ashcroft says Internet surveillance is bad bad bad.. In a 1997 paper written by John Ashcroft titled "Keep Big Brother's Hands Off The Internet," the then-senator complained that Clinton was setting up an "Orwellian" system to track digital information. "In order to guarantee that the United States meets the challenge of this new means of commerce, communication, and education, government must be careful not to interfere. We should not harness the Internet with a confusing array of intrusive regulations and controls. Yet, the Clinton administration is trying to do just that." "There is a concern that the Internet could be used to commit crimes and that advanced encryption could disguise such activity. However, we do not provide the government with phone jacks outside our homes for unlimited wiretaps. Why, then, should we grant government the Orwellian capability to listen at will and in real time to our communications across the Web?" Link Discuss (Thanks, Higgins!) [Boing Boing Blog] 7:38:58 AM

© Copyright 2003 George Herndon. Last update: 2/27/03; 10:39:54.