Firewalls set to become illegal in many states (Clueless legislator alert)

The Inquirer ^ | 3/28/2003 | The Inquirer

[stimpyone]

Firewalls set to become illegal in many American states Legislation by the ignorant

By Staff at the Newsdesk: Friday 28 March 2003, 13:21

AN INTERESTING PIECE of news has surfaced that will have sys admins fainting in disbelief. Eight states have put forward bills that would have a devastating effect on network security and even networks themselves if they come to pass. The wording in the bills is dumb enough that firewalls could become illegal.

The news about the bills was brought to our attention by Edward Felten, more famous for having a go at a different Bill. The states in question are Texas, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Alaska, Tennessee and Colorado. The proposed legislation is intended to extend the much loathed Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).

Felten is definitely used to legal issues, having presented evidence against Microsoft in the antitrust trial. According to his news article on Freedom to Tinker, the various states bills all require the banning the use of any technology that conceals "the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication." It doesn't take much to think that firewalls, routers, network address translators and many other pieces of standard kit all do exactly that. Unless the bills are radically changed, the Internet could effectively become useless in those states.

The wording in the bills is almost certain to change once the correct pressure is applied but it just goes to show what happens when you leave legislators to their own devices. You can find Felten's full article here. It includes links to the text of three different states' proposed legislation. µ

[stimpyone]

There is a good blog on this topic at http://freedom-to-tinker.com/

[jjm2111]

D'oh!

[Glock19C]

They can have my firewall when the pry it from my cold dead... Oh nevermind. ;-)

[FReepaholic]

>>...it just goes to show what happens when you leave legislators to their own devices. ...<<

Probably not the legislators themselves. Probably the media's lobbyists that wrote the thing.

[asformeandformyhouse]

When firewalls are outlawed, only outlaws will have firewalls.

[FateAmenableToChange]

When firewalls are outlawed, only outlaws will have firewalls.

All your firewalls are belong to us.

[freebilly]

FIREWALLS OUTLAWED!

Women and Children Hit Hardest....

[boxerblues]

All your firewalls are belong to us.
this is not the time to make jokes this is series

[steveegg]

All your firewalls are belong to us.

They can have my firewalls when they pry them from my cold, dead hands and hard drive.

[bmwcyle]

First asbestos now this. Fire is a dangerous thing. The servers will fall like the WTC.

[Zon]

the various states bills all require the banning the use of any technology that conceals "the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication."

I'm reminded that politicians and bureaucrats hide in plain sight as they are the cause of several times more harm and suffering inflicted on individuals and their property than all petty and organized criminals combined. Unbeknownst to the vast majority of people is that when they vote for the lesser of evils it still always begets evil. How can so many people thinking they're right be so wrong.

[E Rocc]

Sounds like the legislators who wanted to legally set pi as equal to three have intellectual heirs.

-Eric

[Paleo Conservative]

'All your firewalls are belong to us.'

this is not the time to make jokes this is series

What a bunch of maroons these legistlators are.

[struwwelpeter]

[rintense]

Exactly.

[ShadowAce]

Tech Ping

[HAL9000]

More specifically, this sounds like an attempt to outlaw proxy servers.

[TechJunkYard]

Could also be effectively used against spammers. I'm still reviewing the Texas bill.

[Cicero]

This also strikes me as probably outlawing programs that deal with spyware.

As for spammers, I doubt if it would accomplish anything. It really WOULD be true that when firewalls are outlawed, only criminals would have firewalls.

[Illbay]

...from my cold dead...

Server?