04-23-2003, 01:01 AM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Your Firewall Might Become Illegal...
"Why would a program that stops harmful worms from spreading run afoul of a law that is on the surface intended to stop cable theft? Because, like the less-damaging federal DMCA law, Super DMCA is overly broad and lacks common sense (see Peter Coffee's column on these laws). One of the common aspects of these laws is that they make illegal any device or program that can "conceal or to assist another to conceal from any communication service provider or from any lawful authority the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication." Aside from LaBrea, this makes a whole set of common IT programs and hardware illegal, from firewalls to VPNs to privacy applications."
What a scary law...I'm glad Canada hasn't passed anything similar yet, although if this becomes common across all the states, I'm sure we'll see something similar proposed here. 8O
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04-23-2003, 01:21 AM
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Contributing Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 8,228
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Never underestimate the stupidity of a law maker being coached by a big lobbying group that has fat pockets. :roll:
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04-23-2003, 01:28 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 48
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by Ed Hansberry
Never underestimate the stupidity of a law maker being coached by a big lobbying group that has fat pockets. :roll:
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That would make for a really nice .sig 
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04-23-2003, 01:40 AM
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Pupil
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 32
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One of these days we will get around to renaming our country the "Corporate States of America".
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04-23-2003, 02:20 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 56
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Hmmmm.....
I guess that makes things like....
NAT
PAT
Caller ID Blocking (Available from the Phone Company)
Illegal!
I guess all those companies making Consumer Firewalls(LinkSys, NetGear, etc) the makers and distributors of illegal devices...
Oh, huh...guess that means that we will all have to rent extra IP addresses from the Cable Companies/Phone Companies since NAT will be illegal...
Someone must have a petition? This type of law has ALREADY passed in about a dozen states! Including mine, Delaware and the State I work in...Pennsylvania...
Scary..
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04-23-2003, 02:29 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 300
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Idiots passing laws`
I can only hope that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) finds somebody to challenge the law in one of the states that has passed it. If a Federal court would strike it down in one state, then nearly identical laws would be essentially neutered in all states.
This whole thing reminds me of when I was in college, and we read about how some state legislature (I think Mississippi, or something) passed a law decreeing that Pi would be equal to 3.0, because it was too hard for schoolchildren to learn to use it otherwise.
Actually, this also reminds me of the thing with the Kansas school-board a few years ago passed rules that said that teachers couldn't teach evolution in science class without also teaching creationism - luckily, after a year of Leno jokes, and looking like dumbasses, the state's populace voted out all the schoolboard members who supported that rule, and it was rescinded.
Maybe what needs to happen here is this: for people living in those states, find out if your Congressman's office uses any kind of firewall, or if they're using a router at home - if you can find out that they do, notify the police, and tell them that Senator so-and-so is violating state laws. Call the paper for good measure.
When some of the fat of the ruling-class (sarcasm) is in the fire, I think the laws will be amended....
(pardon any stupid jokes I make about "ruling class" and so on)
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04-23-2003, 03:15 AM
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Ponderer
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 88
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Don't forget Windows XP, with its built-in firewall, would be on the contraband list.
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04-23-2003, 03:21 AM
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5000+ Posts? I Should OWN This Site!
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,616
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Re: Idiots passing laws`
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Kirkaiya
...some state legislature (I think Mississippi, or something) passed a law decreeing that Pi would be equal to 3.0, because it was too hard for schoolchildren to learn to use it otherwise.
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I betcha that not one member of that legislature saw that (iirc) grade eight final exam from (iirc) 1880 that was circulating a wee bit a while ago.
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04-23-2003, 04:10 AM
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Theorist
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 267
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If I wanted to live in a country where the government monitored everything I did, I could move to any of several repressive regimes. The government wants to be able to keep tabs on everything I do -- my internet surfing habits, my emails, what I check out of the public library, my credit card purchases, etc. So, in the name of protecting us from terrorism, we will be come just another thought-controlled, mindless society. 1984, here we come.
And I don't buy the feeble argument about not having to worry, as long as I do nothing wrong. That's the same thing the Chinese and North Korean governments tell their people.
They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -- Ben Franklin
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04-23-2003, 04:20 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Apr 2002
Posts: 480
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by tonyv
One of these days we will get around to renaming our country the "Corporate States of America".
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Well, when you think about it, this was not a corporate action. All corporations are going to use NAT and other technologies. This is just blind stupidity and fear of terrorism.
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