Internet ID for Americans

[FA_Q2]

It will never happen is an asinine assertion. There are a lot of things that people think 'will never happen' and they happen anyway. After all, we are no longer able to smoke in a bar and THAT would never have happened except that it did.


The government has been trying desperately to gain a foothold on the internet for a long time now. It is one of the few places left that contains actual freedom. We should keep it that way but eventually they will find a hole, some grate wrong that needs the benevolent government to come in and 'help' us all out and that will be the end of that.

 

[PoliticalChic]

I also think it's more dangerous to have the government tracking my internet usage than private companies. Those companies, by en large, are trying to figure out what sort of advertisement popups to blast me with to get the best potential return on investment, and given the profit motive of any given corporation, that's about the most inconvenient thing they could conceivably have enough of an interest in doing to me via internet tracking that I might actually have to worry about it.

Politicians, however. . . I personally believe that there's a lot of politicians out there from any given school of political/philosophical thought that, if given the opportunity to use the force of government and law to silence people they disagree with, would do so in a heart beat. The government, in particular, engaging in this sort of tracking offers, in my opinion, the greatest likelihood for and potential severity of misuse. It certainly offers potential for misuse in far greater supply than it offers potential for benefit.

1. "The UK Government is clamping down on what and how people will view the Internet yesterday. Ars Technica writes:

The UK’s Labour government, partnering with the Conservatives, yesterday pushed through the controversial Digital Economy bill over opposition from Liberal Democrats and some in its own party. The bill allows the UK courts to order complete blocks on websites, it requires ISPs to start sending P2P warning letters from copyright holders, and it opens the door to throttling and Internet disconnection for repeat infringement.

Ars Technica goes on to further document how hastily this bill was passed through parliament.

Obviously, there are huge issues here in terms of censorship and what right the government has to intervene in sanctioning people on the Internet."


via PSFK: UK Government Votes To Exert Control On Internet Viewing - PSFK



2. "The principles of openness and universal access that underpinned the creation of the internet three decades ago are under greater threat than ever, according to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.

In an interview with the Guardian, Brin warned there were "very powerful forces that have lined up against the open internet on all sides and around the world". "I am more worried than I have been in the past," he said. "It's scary."
Web freedom faces greatest threat ever, warns Google's Sergey Brin | Technology | The Guardian

 

[waltky]

U.N.-sponsored conference next month will propose new regulations and restrictions for the Internet...

One month until they regulate the Internet
November 01, 2012 - Better enjoy Facebook while you can.

A U.N.-sponsored conference next month in Dubai will propose new regulations and restrictions for the Internet, which critics say will censor free speech, levy tariffs on e-commerce, and even force companies to clean up their “e-waste” and make gadgets that are better for the environment. Concerns about the closed-door event have sparked a Wikileaks-style info-leaking site, and led the State Department on Wednesday to file a series of new proposals or tranches seeking to ensure “competition and commercial agreements -- and not regulation” as the meeting's main message.

Terry Kramer, the chief U.S. envoy to the conference, says the United States is against sanctions and believes management of the Internet by one central organization goes against free speech. “[Doing nothing] would not be a terrible outcome at all,” Kramer said recently. “We need to avoid suffocating the Internet space through well-meaning but overly prescriptive proposals that would seek to control content.” The conference will be run by the International Telecommunications Union (ITC), a U.N. agency that has typically provided a welcome service by making sure that the Internet works across countries. Many of its guidelines were first instituted in 1988. Most haven’t changed since then.

The World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) is the first such meeting since those guidelines were created, and businesses are taking it seriously: U.S. delegates will include representatives from AT&T, Cisco, Facebook, GoDaddy, and dozens more. To dispel concerns, the ITU played damage control in early October. “There are no proposals submitted to create new international regulatory agencies, or mechanisms, and hence no proposals to put ITU in control of the Internet!” said Malcolm Johnson, ITU's telecommunication standardization bureau director, in a written statement.

Despite those reassurances, key experts remain concerned. The American Registry for Internet Numbers (ARIN) is one of just five groups that assign numbers to Internet names, a key part of making the web tick. Cathy Handley, executive director of government affairs at ARIN and a conference attendee, said the meeting is meant to exert some sort of controls.

Read more: One month until they regulate the Internet | Fox News

 

[percysunshine]

Next Tuesday.

Poof...

Maybe...

 

[MikeK]

Internet ID? that sounds like something the old Soviet Union would come up with.

We are moving rapidly in that direction and in many ways we already are there.

 

[FA_Q2]

You know, I am always hearing of Un meetings for one thing or another but really, what so they matter in the end. The UN comes up with 'guidelines' not really concrete law and they have no jurisdiction here. If they come up with some asinine concept in their glory, we have no need to listen to them whatsoever.

TBH, America has already done stupid shit to the internet. I am not worried what the UN will do, they are meaningless. I AM worried about what our senators and reps do however as they have already passed some piss poor legislation that is counterproductive to freedom.

 

[LibertyLemming]

I assure you within a decade the internet will be highly regulated