Here come the data fascists

[Brad Dolan <bdolan@well.sf.ca.us>]

Well, here it comes guys:
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LET'S MAKE SURE GOVERNMENT STEERS DATA HIGHWAY IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

San Jose Mercury News
Sunday, January 2, 1994

By LAWRENCE J. MAGID

(...)
Do we really need Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Congress, the FCC, the FTC and 
countless other bureaucracies meddling in this new industry?

The answer is a qualified yes. While industry will and should take the lead in
developing new products and services, it is the role of government to take the
long view to assure that these services are implemented in a way that is fair
and fruitful. We don't need unnecessary bureaucracies, but we also don't want
the educational equivalent of lead poisoning or data equivalent of gridlock. 
The government's role is especially crucial in a world where physical 
geographic borders are increasingly irrelevant. Think about the 
cybernetic equivalent of illegal immigration and smuggling. The Internet 
doesn't have border patrols to protect our intellectual property. The 
government must be involved, but, as the Vice President has promised,
it must also leave lots of room for both entrepreneurs and the corporate 
giants to play their hands.
 
(...)

Lawrence J. Magid writes a telecommunications column weekly for the Mercury 
News and is author of ''The Little PC Book, a Gentle Introduction to Personal
Computers.'' You can write to him via Mercury Center Online at LarryMagid or 
the Internet at magid@latimes.com.
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Crypto?  Why that would make it impossible for the data police to do their 
jobs!  Anyway, only someone with something to hide would use crypto!

Try to hold 'em off with this one, it worked elsewhere for a while:  "When
crypto is outlawed, only outlaws will have crypto".

It's like listening to the raindrops at the start of a storm.  Corporate 
America just woke up and realized we have a good thing that it doesn't 
control.  It will soon rectify that.

Pessimistically yours,  bdolan@well.sf.ca.us