FC: U.S. bill tries to end anonymous surfing, email from libraries

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

The bill requires schools and libraries receiving federal funds to prevent 
"use of such computers to access an online privacy service that enables a 
user (I) to send electronic mail anonymously; or`(II) to access the World 
Wide Web anonymously."

Maybe I'll be flamed for saying this, but, heck, this is what you get when 
special interest groups lobby the Feds for cash. Congress has a long and 
miserable history of slapping restrictions on money it doles out, from 
highway dollars and the 55 mph limit to student aid and dubious Title IX 
restrictions (http://www.reason.com/0104/fe.ml.title.html). Sure, libraries 
can sue to overturn the smut-blocking restrictions, but they may not 
prevail, and even if they win that fight, they won't win 'em all. Whatever 
happened to having local library boards and communities decide on these rules?

-Declan

*********

Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 07:32:57 -0700 (PDT)
From: Jon Camfield <griffjon () yahoo com>
Subject: No anonymous access from libraries?
To: declan () well com

I'm surprised this hasn't hit the major alt-news
outlets yet.  I first saw it on newsbytes
(http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/165792.html)

"These radical organizations are made up of loosely
knit groups from across the country that endorse
militant action in the name of a particular cause.
They use privacy sites on the Internet to anonymously
contact one another and recruit our children. Then,
using the environment or other worthwhile causes, they
manipulate juveniles into committing crimes to further
their own cause."
--Rep. Grucci (R-NY)

The full text of the H.R. 1846 bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.01846:

Bummer for Hotmail access, eh?


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