Net Driver's License

[Duncan Frissell <frissell@panix.com>]

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>If an 'Internet drivers license' bill passed next week, it'd take at
>least a year to get it repealed (probably much longer).  During
>that time, if the government wished to do so, it could stage any
>number of provocative acts, blame them on 'Internet Terrorists', then
>get James Kallstron on tv to announce that the 'Terrorists' have been
>caught via their Internet Drivers Licenses.  

We've had telephones for more than 100 years with no "telephone driver's 
license".  We've had letter mail for several hundred years with no "mail 
driver's license."  We've had television for more than 60 years with no 
"television driver's license" (except in your commie countries like the UK.

There is little chance that such a law would pass and no chance that it would 
be effective if it did.

The Feds can't even effectively prevent the anonymous holding of driver's 
licenses, cars, bank accounts, credit cards, and cellular telephone accounts 
in America.  And all of those are much easier to mandate than an Internet 
Driver's License.  

For one thing, an Internet Drivers License would require the drafting, 
writing, and running of encrypted authentication protocols (to deny service
to 
non license holders) but those who control the Nets (us) couple piggyback on 
those same protocols to dodge licensure.

Think about it.  An Internet Driver's License could only license a connection 
not communication itself (1st Amendment) and a single Net connection can 
connect to a network that is big on the other side as the rest of the Net 
itself.  Cheating is way too easy.

DCF  
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