-=PCTechTalk=- FYI New Cyberlaws

From: "Larry Southerland" <larrysoutherland@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <the_bullhorn2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <thebullhornsbest@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <Puters_N_Such@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 19 Jan 2011 19:52:25 -0500
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Nobody's property or liberty is safe as long as a legislature is in
session...

 


New Laws to Regulate your Online Life

In one of many new year's traditions, all across the U.S., hundreds of new
laws went into effect on January 1, 2011. And each year, more of these
legislative actions seem to be concerned with regulating computers, the
Internet and online behavior. When the Internet first "went commercial" in
the 1990s and became easy enough and affordable enough for the masses, it
was a bit like the old western frontier: a wild and wooly "place" where the
rule of the day was "anything goes."

This freedom was, of course, abused by some - and that led to government
crackdowns. Most folks would agree that laws directed at pedophiles who hunt
for young victims on the Internet, for example, are appropriate exercises of
government authority. But each time a state or federal legislature meets,
more laws are enacted with the aim of controlling what happens online. Some
of these are needed, most are well intentioned, but some are badly thought
out and easily misapplied. If you spend a lot of time online, it behooves
you to check out what new laws may have gone into effect this year in your
jurisdiction.

California was one of the most active states when it came to creating new
laws. One of those that directly impacts Internet users is SB-1411, which
makes it a misdemeanor to fraudulently identify yourself online. 
http://www.wxpnews.com/110118-Online-Impersonation

Such a law could have had nightmarish unintended consequences if not done
properly. Think about the grandmotherly old lady who creates a Facebook page
for her dog or cat, or the man or woman whose spouse calls and asks him/her
to send an email from the spouse's account because said spouse doesn't have
access to a computer. A badly written law could have inadvertently made
those people criminals. Luckily, those who wrote the California law were
very specific, and made the law applicable to those who impersonate someone
else without consent. Does grandma have the dog's permission? It doesn't
matter, because the statute goes further and specifies that to fall under
the law, the impersonation must be "for purposes of harming, intimidating,
threatening or defrauding another person." It also must be a "credible"
impersonation. Whew! Grandma is probably safe, since no one really thought
the Pomeranian was typing all those profound status updates.

Even prior to the new year, many states already had computer privacy
statutes on the books. In one high profile case, a husband in Michigan was
arrested for reading his wife's emails, which were on a computer that the
two of them shared. 
http://www.wxpnews.com/110118-Reading-Wifes-Email

He hasn't gone to trial yet, but the outcome of this one could set some
interesting precedent one way or the other. It also raises questions
regarding how electronic communications differ (or don't) from older forms
of communication. Would he have been arrested if he had gone through her
dresser drawer and found and read handwritten letters? Would he have been
arrested if he had picked up an extension phone and listened in on her
conversation? Do we (or should we) have a greater expectation of privacy in
email than in those other forms of private correspondence? 

At the federal level, one of the biggest Internet related issues has been
"net neutrality," or the prohibition against ISPs favoring one type of
content over another on their networks. In December, the Federal
Communications Commission - sidestepping Congress - adopted a compromise
order that requires providers to openly disclose how they manage their
networks and requires them to transmit all lawful content (in other words,
the provider can't block the VoIP packets of your third party service that
competes with their own VoIP offering). The rules also mandates that the ISP
must allow you to connect any non-harmful device to the network (such as
your VoIP box, or a router that distributes the Internet connection to
multiple computers). Finally, the rules ban ISPs from unreasonably slowing
or degrading certain types of traffic on their networks. You can read more
about the new rules here: 
http://www.wxpnews.com/110118-Net-Neutrality

Of course, the U.S. isn't the only country where new laws are tightening
government controls over the Internet. Last month, Venezuela enacted
legislation that bans content that promotes unrest or challenges existing
authorities. 
http://www.wxpnews.com/110118-Internet-Content-Bans

What do you think? Do we already have enough laws governing our online
behavior? Or do we need more? Should a spouse go to jail for reading email
on a shared computer? How do you feel about the net neutrality compromise?
Is the U.S. headed toward the same sorts of restrictions on freedom of
speech on the Internet that exist in other countries? We invite you to
discuss these topics in our forum at 
http://www.wxpnews.com/110118-Forum

 

Your friend,

 

Larry

 




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-=PCTechTalk=- FYI New Cyberlaws

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