Third Time a Charm for Anti-Spyware?

in ,

I have seen a couple of articles recently on the third attempt by Congress to pass an anti-spyware bill (this time H.R.964 aka "The Spy Act").*link *link *link

In general I have mixed feelings about legislation like this. Legislation is a tricky thing, and the law of unintended consequences is always lurking near by. I wonder if more general legislation about hijacking systems without informed consent might not achieve the same goals. I am surprised that existing laws don't already cover this. It seems often to be the case that new laws are passed where diligent enforcement of existing laws would suffice (I guess my libertarian stripes are showing). I am not a lawyer, and so am not qualified to make this judgement.

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Welcome

in ,

My purpose in creating this blog is to address trends and issues in online privacy and security. Having been in the trenches in these areas since around 1992, I bring a very applied, practical, and pragmatic viewpoint to the discussion. My personal perspective is based in the strong principles of privacy and free speech. These absolutes have been tempered over the years, and especially flagrantly in the World Wide Web, which led me to pursue a career in providing privacy and identity protection services.

With this blog, I hope to help, educate, and spur lively debate around these and related issues. Your feedback is greatly appreciated as I look for the best structure for this blog.