Online Groceries Slow But Steady Pace >>
<< Merrill Lynch Settles
 tdicon 

Ramblings

by Mike Masnick

Tue, May 21st 2002 9:53am





Do We Need Email Customs Agents?

from the a-national-e-border dept

Simson Garfinkel's latest column makes the argument that we should protect our national borders from email coming from certain countries. The argument is based on the idea that we rely on the US government, military and customs service to protect us from dangerous phsyical items getting into the country - shouldn't we do the same for digital items? He points out that while many of us secure our own computers, that's because we're technically savvy. However, we don't build a fortress around our homes, because we pay our taxes assuming the US government will protect us from foreign attack - so perhaps they should be protecting our electronic homes as well. It's an interesting idea, and one that I had not heard of before. I can see both sides of the argument, and I'm not yet sure where I stand on the issue (though, I tend to usually not like anything that blocks out something). Anyone else have any thoughts?

2 Comments | Leave a Comment

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments (rss)

(Flattened / Threaded)

  1.  
    identicon
    patrick quinn, May 21st, 2002 @ 10:32am

    Government Protection

    The difference is that our homes need protection because without them, we would be out on the streets. For the casual computer user, the loss of a computer is the same as the loss of a television. For the person who relies on their computer for their livelihood, they are by definition techno-saavy and should know how to protect themselves.

    Let the government focus on stopping the planes from crashing into buildings in downtown NY and let us worry about our own harddrives.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  
    identicon
    Ed, May 21st, 2002 @ 11:47am

    Re: Government Protection

    Indeed, the correct analogy is to radio and television broadcasts. Jamming Voice of America broadcasts was something we might have expected from the old Soviet regime, while we were free to listen to Radio Moscow. However, with some of the recent developments relating to satellite TV signals between the US and Canada, we may not be as free as we used to be.

     

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


Add Your Comment

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here
Get Techdirt’s Daily Email
Save me a cookie
  • Note: A CRLF will be replaced by a break tag (<br>), all other allowable HTML will remain intact
  • Allowed HTML Tags: <b> <i> <a> <em> <br> <strong> <blockquote> <hr> <tt>
Online Groceries Slow But Steady Pace >>
<< Merrill Lynch Settles
 tdicon 
Follow Techdirt
Flattr rss rss
A word from our Sponsors...
Sponsored Resource
Essential Reading
Techdirt Reading List
Techdirt Insider Chat

A word from our Sponsors...
Recent Stories

Thursday

1:01pm: Filmmaker Behind The Pirate Bay Documentary Says Bogus DMCA Takedowns Take Away His Free Speech (15)
12:04pm: Vermont Declares War On Patent Trolls; Passes New Law And Sues Notorious Patent Troll (5)
11:05am: Prenda Lawyer Says Georgia Court Should Ignore Judge Wright's Order Because... Look! Hackers! (24)
10:01am: Chicago School System On FOIA Requests: Stonewalling, Obfuscation, & Paper-Shredding (16)
8:57am: VOD Service Acetrax Shutting Down, Forcing Customers Through DRM Hoops To Retain Their Purchased Movies (30)
7:58am: Man Butt Dials 911 While Discussing Murder Plot (17)
5:51am: Kim Dotcom Threatens To Sue Google, Facebook And Twitter Over 2-Factor Authentication Patent If They Don't Help Him (138)
3:44am: Amazon Wants To Sell Fan Fiction With It, Originator And FanFic Author All Sharing Profits (46)

Wednesday

11:54pm: Cool New Platform For Supporting Artists: Patreon, From Jack Conte (19)
7:53pm: Modest Proposal: Going Piracy Neutral (35)
More arrow
A word from our Sponsors...

Close

Email This