The Obama Internet policy is taking a bit of a different turn aside from calling for higher internet connection accessibility. The Obama administration, along with intelligence and regulation enforcement agencies, want even more monitoring powers online, which could be part of a brand new bill going before Congress sometime in the near future. The ability of the government to observe communications will greatly expand if the bill becomes regulation. The intent would be to put even fewer methods of communicating under the watchful eye of Washington.
Obama internet regulations
A bill will propose more access for wiretap and monitoring purposes for intelligence and law enforcement officials, according to the New York Times. The White House is on board, and the Obama Internet surveillance bill will likely go to Congress next year. The amount of communications the government already has access to is ample, which will expand if the bill passes. Land lines and cellular phones are easy enough to get into. However, you will find some forms of electronic communication which are private and encrypted.
Little companies will miss out
Though this law would certainly favor large companies that have the engineering staff to handle new specifications, startup tech firms will be at a disadvantage. The recent ban of the Blackberry in several nations was due to Research In Motion having intended the phone so e-mails and texts are encrypted, private communications. RIM, along with other tech businesses such as voice over web protocol business Skype, would have to re-engineer products to permit for government intervention. Law enforcement and intelligence officials have complained that their surveillance abilities are “going dark,” as fewer individuals rely totally on phone communications.
Got the ear on you
There are few methods of communication, apart from speaking in person, that are not subject to domestic surveillance. Obama has been mum about repealing some of the almost Orwellian laws which were part of Bush domestic spying controversies. legitimate threats to public safety that could be dealt with by this legislation, and the government insists it’s not overstepping its authority by asking for the access. There are people that do pose a threat to public safety that could be caught using these methods. However, this sort of power is very easily misused.
Information from
NY Times
nytimes.com/2010/09/27/us/27wiretap.html?pagewanted=1
