Posted on 02/12/2009 1:07:35 AM PST by Rennes Templar
US Senator Dianne Feinstein hopes to update President Barack Obama's $838bn economic stimulus package so that American ISPs can deter child pornography, copyright infringement, and other unlawful activity by way of "reasonable network management."
Clearly, a lobbyist whispering in Feinstein's ear has taken Comcast's now famous euphemism even further into the realm of nonsense.
According to Public Knowledge, Feinstein's network management amendment did not find a home in the stimulus bill that landed on the Senate floor. But lobbyists speaking with the Washington DC-based internet watchdog said that California's senior Senator is now hoping to insert this language via conference committee - a House-Senate pow-wow were bill disputes are resolved.
"This is the most backdoor of all the backdoor ways of doing things," Public Knowledge's Art Brodsky told The Reg. "Conference committees are notorious for being the most opaque of all legislative processes."
Obama's stimulus bill sets aside between $6bn and $9bn for expanding American broadband into rural areas, and Senator Feinstein hopes to (PDF) augment this Broadband Technology Opportunities Program so that it "allows for reasonable network management practices such as deterring unlawful activity, including child pornography and copyright infringement."
On one level, Obama's bill is an effort to boost the American economy. On another, it's an opportunity for lobbyists to make a mockery of American government.
According to Public Knowledge, the Motion Picture Association of America is behind Feinstein's language. The MPAA doesn't like copyright infringement. And you can bet the child pornography bit was tossed in for added effect.
But the "network management" bit sounds like ISP speak.
As Art Brodsky and his colleagues pointed out, network management is used to manage networks - not filter content. Content filters are used to filter content. But American ISPs - particularly cable ISPs - will take any excuse they can find to throttle certain traffic.
And if they're using copyright infringement and child porn as excuses, they'll have to start sniffing packets. So, Feinstein's amendment would also destroy net privacy - if there's any out there.
Word from Public Knowledge is that Congressman Henry Waxman will back Feinstein's amendment when it turns up in conference committee. Representing a district near Hollywood, Waxman has long backed the MPAA and the Recording Ass. of America in their efforts to crack down on P2P file sharing.
And Democrats were all up in arms to protest against eavesdropping overseas phone calls between terrorists.
It’s a friggen spending free for all.
They should have just given everyone $500 a month to spend (or lose, ie not save) for 6 months.
“...such as deterring unlawful activity....”
Which will no doubt include making sure that the “Fairness” Doctrine is followed on the internet as well. Obama and his minions are getting their stinky hands into everything while they can.
Hey - did anyone see Mrs. O on that magazine cover? Very nice!
(Ha! They can’t delete THIS post! What with me being fair and all.)
This bailout is the gift that keeps on giving.
The Liberals will...
...ARE...
...using the economic “crisis’ to forward every Liberal agenda item they can possibly get away with.
They do not care even a little bit what you think.
What’s YOUR next move...General?
This is nothing more than a more clandestine way of spending. The money will go to certain ISPs (Google, etc), who will say they are spending it on monitoring technology. Then someone sues based on free speach issues. The ISP will be ordered by the court to stop their monitoring development (which they never really started) and the ISPs keep the money anyway. See?
Seems it’s always over a terrible thing when I have to ping both of you guys to the same thread...
Dan White’s greatest crime was launching Diane Feinstein’s political career.
But it’s for the chiiiiiiildren!
“Never let a crisis go to waste”
Do we get subsidized sex changes yet? Add some variety to the non-stop government taxpayer effing.
If not, there are many future legislative sessions to come, and Geithner/Goebbels has yet to introduce his 1.5 Trillion dollar bail-out extension to enhance the first one that somehow recently vanished.
It would be nice if it was just a rip-off, but Google was doing this sort of stuff in China, and ECHELON and CARNIVORE have been monitoring communications for years.
Now, they will be monitoring for 'counterrevolutionaries' here.
So now ISP’s are to be cops, too?
“Now, they will be monitoring for ‘counterrevolutionaries’ here”
You can make a SURE bet that many of us here are already on a leftists “Enemies List”, somewhere.
DARING to speak out against liberal Fascism on the internet has already led to some interesting confrontations with hate-filled liberals in real life for me.
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