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Could We See a New E-PATRIOT Act

Privacy & Rights:
Could We See a New E-PATRIOT Act
in the Years to Come?
If you've ever wondered how Congress could possible enact legislation as complex as the USA PATRIOT Act less than 30 days after the events of Sept. 11, 2001, you're not alone.

The answer, though, isn't that mysterious. The proposals that eventually became the PATRIOT Act weren't new. They had been previously introduced numerous times, but never enacted. Congress only acted after the tragic events of 9/11.

And that's what leads me to make a prediction: Within a few years, perhaps much sooner, there will be an information security "meltdown" event that is too big to ignore. Perhaps terrorists will steal launch codes to nuclear missiles and initiate an attack on Israel. Maybe hackers will infiltrate NSA computers and shut down its network of more than 50 surveillance satellites.

Whatever the event, whatever administration is in power – Democrat or Republican – will demand an immediate congressional response: a PATRIOT Act for the Internet.
What's more, much of such an E-PATRIOT Act already exists. According to Stanford University law professor Larry

Lessig, who founded the university's Center for Internet and Society, the Justice Department is waiting for an Internet security meltdown before introducing a cyber equivalent of the PATRIOT Act.

What will the E-PATRIOT Act include? The Justice Department isn't talking, but it's safe to assume that it will include provisions previously introduced, but rejected due to civil liberties concerns. These include:

Mandatory disclosure of encryption keys and passphrases after a court order or some lesser legal process
Prohibition of anonymous email accounts
Mandatory retention of email logs and Web surfing logs by Internet Service Providers
Mandatory use of "Internet ID cards" to access the Internet
And that's just for starters. The Justice Department no doubt has many other initiatives in mind, waiting for an expedient time for introduction.

As bad as an E-PATRIOT Act would be, it's not the end of the world. You always can communicate in other ways. For example, "snail mail," can't be routinely monitored as easily as email.

While the timing of the E-PATRIOT Act is unknown, its eventual arrival is a near-certain. Be prepared!

MARK NESTMANN,
Privacy Expert & President of The Nestmann Group
www.nestmann.com

By sloopskipper on Aug 16, 2008, 06:50 in Off Topic.

jorgegdiaz says on Aug 16, 2008, 07:09:

I'd like to see how the enforce the "anonymous email accounts".

Democratic party or Republican party is fine......as long as theres a party!!!!!!!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Aug 16, 2008, 09:50:

They've managed to do damned near everything else. They could block them all in the U.S. (sorta like the stuff China does), since the telecom providers have caved before.

Maybe even enforce government registration for an e-mail account.

0 funny, 0 helpful.

jorgegdiaz says on Aug 17, 2008, 09:57:

... what is the ACLU is going to say ?

Democratic party or Republican party is fine......as long as theres a party!!!!!!!

0 funny, 0 helpful.

sloopskipper says on Aug 18, 2008, 04:24:

Seems they have a history of doing these things in secret. Who knows what they have not been caught doing?

0 funny, 0 helpful.

dwmte7 says on Sep 4, 2008, 18:53:

we can always go back to encrypted smoke signals....

dwmte

0 funny, 0 helpful.