ISPs Gearing Up to Filter Internet Content

I was probably born paranoid.

Though I’ve learned to suppress those tendencies for the most part, there is always this not-so-teeny voice in the back of my head that quavers a bit when my wife calls her family overseas.  Or, I hear an odd “click” when I’m on the telephone… or that black helicopter that seems to follow me to and from work three or four times a week.

We’re not International Terrorists by any stretch of the imagination.  But, the real possibility that some semi-artificially intelligent machine is sifting through and archiving all the emails, voice transmissions, downloads, search histories, etc. of all digital hard-line and wireless communications bothers me more than I am willing to admit. 

Having my home network connected to a global network makes that little voice reverberate a bit too.  This, even though I am fairly above-average where technology is concerned, and know most of the ins-and-outs of securing my home network against intrusion, malware, viruses and the like.

Never-the-less, I have a sneaking suspicion that if someone with the right skill and resources wanted to break into my network and rape my personal data that there is very little I could do about it.  And, who better than your ISP or the company that makes your Operating System?

If AT&T, Microsoft and other providers have their way, they will start filtering traffic at their network level for copyright infringement.  Never mind parody and fair-use that will certainly be flagged by their digital spies.  Never mind free speech.  The copyright owner’s rights trump you personal civil rights.  Illegal search and seizure doesn’t apply to your digital communications.  And, probably not the files on your home computer.

“Well, if you’re not doing anything wrong, you’ve got nothing to worry about.”

In a word, bull feces.  Well, make that two.

It doesn’t have anything to do with having something to hide.  It’s about: “Where does it stop?”  “Who makes the rules?”

What is to stop covert government organizations from using the technology to clandestinely spy on their citizens?  Don’t think so?  How utterly naive you are.  I mean, please…

Oh, and while they’re snooping at your files, they’ll be charging you per byte as you surf.  Goodbye flat-rate internet pricing.  Sucks to live in Beaumont, Texas.

Links: 

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/att-and-other-isps-may-be-getting-ready-to-filter/index.html

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/17/time-warner-download-too-much-and-you-might-pay-30-a-movie/