There is more than just a call for more broadband in the Obama web policy. Currently, the Obama administration and law enforcement and security agencies are pushing for new regulations of the Internet and the telecommunications industry. If these new laws pass, it will grant the government greater access for surveillance purposes. There are few methods of electronic communication that aren’t already under monitoring. This will shorten that list even further.
Brand new Obama internet style
There is a bill that is planned for next year, according to the NY Times, that will expand wiretap and surveillance powers for law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The Obama administration is behind the bill, which is due next year. The bill will mandate that all methods of communication be intended to allow federal surveillance. Some forms of digital communications are private and encrypted, while many others are not secret at all to the government.
Harmful to designers
Though this law would certainly favor large corporations that have the engineering staff to handle new specifications, startup tech companies will be at a disadvantage. Research In Motion does not even have accessibility to the private and encrypted transmissions from the Blackberry, which led to bans of the phone in some countries. RIM, along with other tech businesses for instance voice over web protocol company Skype, would have to re-engineer products to permit for federal intervention. Law enforcement and intelligence services do rely on monitored communication to catch criminals, and as a result of the decreased access, have seen their capabilities “going dark” to do their jobs.
Electric ears
Except for sign language, few methods of communication are exempt from the ability of government to listen in. Granted, Obama has not had a scandal comparable to the Bush domestic spying controversies. The government maintains that its requests for access are not unreasonable, nor unprecedented. A greater degree of surveillance may seem a good tool for catching criminals in the act, however can easily be misused.
Articles cited
NY Times
nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html?pagewanted=1
