CNET: ISP snooping gaining support

[Eugene]

ISP snooping gaining support

By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Published: April 14, 2006, 4:03 AM PDT

The explosive idea of forcing Internet providers to record their customers'
online activities for future police access is gaining ground in state capitols
and in Washington, D.C.

Top Bush administration officials have endorsed the concept, and some members
of the U.S. Congress have said federal legislation is needed to aid law enforcement
investigations into child pornography. A bill is already pending in the Colorado
State Senate.

<snip>

Proposals for mandatory data retention tend to adhere to one of two models:
Address storage or some kind of content storage. In the first model, businesses
must record only which Internet address is assigned to a customer at a specific time.
In the second, which is closer to what Europe adopted, more types of information must be
retained--including telephone numbers dialed, contents of Web pages visited, recipients
of e-mail messages and so on.

Without saying what model he favored, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff broadly
endorsed data retention at a meeting of a departmental privacy panel last month. In response
to a question, Chertoff said that federal police should be permitted to run queries against
data repositories created and maintained by businesses for a set time.

<snip>

Full article: http://news.com.com/ISP+snooping+gaining+support/2100-1028_3-6061187.html?tag=nefd.lede

Justifications start with child pornography and then go on to terrorism,
drug crimes, and tax fraud.

[LiberalPartisan]

1. Political speech won't be far behind.

But with all the creative techies out there an alternative to the current internet is likely to emerge - one that is devoid of governmental snooping.

Here's one such attempt: http://www.freenetproject.org/

[xchrom]

3. are you insinuating that america is not

exceptional?!?!?!

[LiberalPartisan]

7. I'm saying America is at best average.

The ideals that once made America great are now just words dusted off every election cycle and spoken without meaning.

On its best day the USA is just average.

[Daphne08]

2. Spying is what it's all about! What country has this become? n/t

[Sinti]

4. Why not go after the child pornographers, and shut them down?

No, they want to watch your footsteps through their 'net. Meanwhile, they have the purchasers of child pornography working in Homeland Defense. Makes my head spin. :crazy:

[jsamuel]

5. technical question...

What if someone uses your internet connection and does bad stuff on your computer without your knowledge? It has to happen all the time...

[democrat_patriot]

6. You would be responsible.

Same thing applie to your home wireless network, someone connects to and downloads illegal things, you are held responsible.