Here They Go Again

What, yet, another government attempt to restrict freedoms of speech on the internet! How amazing to learn that two United States senators, Max Baucus and Daivd Pryor, have introduced a "discussion draft" into committee which would restrict certain web sites to minors by labelling them .

In a recent article, 'Senators Propose Labels for Adult Web Sites', Declan McCullagh, CNET News.com, 12 April 2007, writes that the draft's purpose is to target those "Web pages that the government deems unsuitable for minors." I cannot begin to describe my outrage with the tenor of this legislation (draft, my #*&$**), and how the government can begin to insult the integrity of the constitution with this bogus piece of legislation. I am all in favor of parents censoring their children's internet habits and behavior, but subscribing to any perennial form of government censorship is simply unacceptable.

If internet sites do not register, for example, with such (newly empowered government regulatory agency) internet registration sites such as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) they could be heavily fined. (remember earlier we had an online discussion with a member of ICANN and he denied any such empowerment). If a particular web site fails to comply with the federal statute then the "government would be able to shut down" once the non compliant is reported. Or maybe the statute will enable the ICANN to exercise newly enabling enforcement powers by shutting it down sua sponte. (Professor Katsh, have you been withholding top secret, confidential materials?).

What's making this the most dangerous piece of legislation of our (N.Y.) times is the "Baucus-Pryor legislation includes no exemptions for news organizations." WOW! Frankly, there goes freedom of the press and speech. If the government so desired, they could shut down the "Imus in the Morning" show; Oh, yes, he was fired last week. (the extension of most cable news or print media are blogs or individual web sites). Say goodbye to CNN if they just happen to lash out at the nitwit junior senator from N.Y. (Hillary Clinton), or the government determines that a) they failed to register with ICANN because last week they ran a story on a sexual intercourse encounter on some golf course in Amherst, Mass. and its reporting content is sexually explict and b) just because....

This is clearly cybercrap!

More to come.