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Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994 by Declan McCullagh, the mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of culture, technology, politics, and law. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.
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? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if it remains intact. To subscribe, visit http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------