"Internet II" and Clinton

["Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>]

Clinton has unveiled his plans, such as they are, for what he calls
"Internet II," combining in his announcement $100 million in funding for
school links, "an Internet account for every high school student," and
(unspecified) speed improvements to the Internet.

(I wonder if he thinks the Internet belongs to the U.S., or is controlled
by the U.S.?)

The implications for our list are as we have long talked about. Potentially:

* a government attempt to reassert some sort of control over the Internet,
a la the "we paid for the Arpanet, so we can control what it's used for."

(Of course, the Internet is no longer what it once was, and it is not a
specific network the USG can claim to own or control. It's more of a
"protocol," a set of agreements on how packets, messages, newsgroups, etc.
will be carried. I'm using the term "Internet" in its largest sense, as
"the Net.")

* all of these schoolchildren are gonna need to be protected from filthy
Web sites, unrestricted free speech, pedophiles, money launderers (and
moneychangers), Hemlock Society advocates, gay and lesbo rights groups, the
NRA< and other assorted Horsemen. Look for increased school purchases of
filter software, various laws tightening up what U.S. sites carry
(depending on how the  CDA gets resolved).

* my prediction from a few years ago: "the Internet Driver's License." Or,
worse, all packets must have True Names attached in some way. (The smallest
packets, a la ATM, may be too small to carry IDs, but larger-granularity
packets may have to carry IDs, digital sigs, etc.)

Of course, it may be that Clinton is just posturing for the upcoming
election, and the "Internet II" will be a trivia question a few years from
now.

But now that the politicians have well and truly discovered the Net, look out.

--Tim May

"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."