Taming the Web - New technologies, laws raise barriers online

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

Hi all

An interesting report from CNET on government regulation of the Net,
locating users by IP addresses and filtering issues, and how
governments may use these technologies to restrict access to the Net.

Cheers
David

Taming the Web - New technologies, laws raise barriers online
Not long ago, civil libertarians looked to cyberspace as the utopia
of ultimate freedom, beyond the reach of restrictive 
technologies and government regulators. 

Today, that dream may be fading with the hyper-speed of Internet
time. 

A combination of new technologies, recent laws and international
restrictions--sometimes related, more often not--are making 
possible a kind of online regulation once thought impossible.
Although no one predicts a global, overnight crackdown, 
proponents of Internet restrictions are turning increasingly to
effective software filters and tracking programs that can create 
barriers on the Web and help find those who breach them. 

Perhaps emboldened by the recent French court ruling against Yahoo,
foreign governments are aggressively pursuing online 
initiatives ranging from bans on hate material to campaigns against
piracy. Even more important are proposed international 
treaties that raise the specter of a true government on the
multinational Internet for the first time.   
 
Building fences, one by one
At the crux of the controversy is a new generation of software
programs that can block specified content and track people 
based on their physical locations. 

Filters face free-speech test
As a result of a new federal law, thousands of U.S. libraries are
facing a conundrum: filter Internet content against their will, or 
risk losing federal funds.

Nations head for global clash
Foreign governments are moving to regulate the Internet with growing
frequency, raising the potential for the kind of conflict 
with U.S. law not seen in years. 
 See http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-5589627-0.html for the
report.


=====
David Goldstein
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email: Goldstein_David@yahoo.com.au
phone: +61 3 9885 0601 (home)
       +61 418 228 605 (mobile)

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