Re: Weapons on the Web, and mention of remailers

[Tim May <tcmay@got.net>]

At 9:46 AM -0700 11/13/97, Tim May wrote:

>In view of the Paladin case, the Feinstein "bomb-making instructions ban,"
>and calls to shut down gun shows, this article may give some tips on coming
>actions. And the plans for the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug
>Administration to start cruising the Web looking for illegal speech also
>provides a clue.
>
>Personally, I'm beginning to think

This got sent before I finished this comment. Here's the rest:

Personally, I'm beginning to think that "regulation of commerce" will be a
major tool for controlling the Web and the Net in general. Under the
precedent that commercial speech is not as protected as, say, political
speech (*),

(* though even political speech is coming under pressure, as shown by
"campaign finance laws" which limit the speech rich people or corporations
may exercise in support of others or of causes)

we may seet "bots" patrolling cyberspace looking for mentions of contraband
items, looking for evidence of offerings of items for sale, and checking
for illegal claims, false advertising, etc.

Some of us, like me, are fairly open about our viewpoints, our lifestyles,
and our supplies of guns and other such things. In fact, I view my "up
frontness" as one of my best protections.

But others will fear that comments made in rec.guns, or rec.pyrotechnics,
or rec.woodworking (*), will generate unwelcome attention.

(* One longtime Cypherpunk received a visit from the FBI during the
Unabomber search. His interest in woodworking, and his subsriptions to
woodworking magazines, and his connections to the Berkeley math department,
all caused him to "fit the profile," it would seem. (Never mind that he was
in high school or earlier when the Unabomber started his bombings.))

Being "up front" is a lot easier than keeping a solid cover, watching every
post for slips, using digital pseudonyms religiously and without ever
slipping up or providing clues for correlation analysis. Your mileage may
vary, but I prefer to be out in the open about my views and (most of) my
activities.

--Tim May

The Feds have shown their hand: they want a ban on domestic cryptography
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^2,976,221   | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."