Comments on: Why Internet Filtering Concerns Me http://thomasbeagle.net/2009/07/10/why-filtering-concerns-me/ Sat, 24 Sep 2011 00:48:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: some guy in germany http://thomasbeagle.net/2009/07/10/why-filtering-concerns-me/comment-page-1/#comment-5222 some guy in germany Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:05:36 +0000 http://thomasbeagle.net/?p=172#comment-5222 @#1 We're having rather similar problems here in Germany. > This will make sure that the content is actually illegal and not based on domain name, > metadata words or search terms etc. Dream on ... > Giving out the list publicly would be just stupid. It would be a “how to” for all bad > guys and offenders in other countries, as well as a incentive for your guys to > actually find a proxy in another country. so, for the internet filtering to work, the list has to be secret .. but if the list is secret the so-called filtering becomes indistinguishable from censorship. > Should it be used for other stuff than child pornography? I dont know. Experience in germany shows: as soon as censorship becoems possible, everyone and their dog clamors to have his pet peeve added to the list. - "Killer games" - "Illegal Downloads" - "political dissent" This is not "a slippery slope". its a gaping abyss. one step forward and you're in freefall. > We do want our police to protect us against crime in RL, on a multitude of levels. I Strongly disagree. "protection against crime" is much too unclear a task to be assigned to anyone, let alone the police (legalized thugs). Ideally, the (non-traffic-cop-varietey of the) police investigates suspected crimes, apprehends the perpetrators and hands them off to the judicial system. In doing so, they reduce the number of a) crimes and b) criminals in your area. (Which might give you a feeling of safety...) Anything beyond that, like - going after "suspected criminals" - going after "suspected minorities" (including "internet-savvy people") - going after "thought crime" - Censorship (in RL and on the intenet) - Domestic Spying - etc. is not *protecting* society but actually *destabilizing* it. @#1

We’re having rather similar problems here in Germany.

> This will make sure that the content is actually illegal and not based on domain name,
> metadata words or search terms etc.

Dream on …

> Giving out the list publicly would be just stupid. It would be a “how to” for all bad
> guys and offenders in other countries, as well as a incentive for your guys to
> actually find a proxy in another country.

so, for the internet filtering to work, the list has to be secret .. but if the list
is secret the so-called filtering becomes indistinguishable from censorship.

> Should it be used for other stuff than child pornography? I dont know.

Experience in germany shows: as soon as censorship becoems possible,
everyone and their dog clamors to have his pet peeve added to the list.
- “Killer games”
- “Illegal Downloads”
- “political dissent”

This is not “a slippery slope”. its a gaping abyss.
one step forward and you’re in freefall.

> We do want our police to protect us against crime in RL, on a multitude of levels.

I Strongly disagree. “protection against crime” is much too unclear a task
to be assigned to anyone, let alone the police (legalized thugs).

Ideally, the (non-traffic-cop-varietey of the) police investigates suspected crimes, apprehends the perpetrators and hands them off to the judicial system. In doing so,
they reduce the number of a) crimes and b) criminals in your area.
(Which might give you a feeling of safety…)

Anything beyond that, like
- going after “suspected criminals”
- going after “suspected minorities” (including “internet-savvy people”)
- going after “thought crime”
- Censorship (in RL and on the intenet)
- Domestic Spying
- etc.
is not *protecting* society but actually *destabilizing* it.

]]> By: Oh yeah? http://thomasbeagle.net/2009/07/10/why-filtering-concerns-me/comment-page-1/#comment-5112 Oh yeah? Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:44:00 +0000 http://thomasbeagle.net/?p=172#comment-5112 A recent report from the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) stated that the number of domains offering child pornography is measured in the hundreds, not hundreds of thousands. Entering them manually should not be a really big problem, as I guess that the police in various countries will cooperate and share information, and will ensure that they are all checked by a human being, probably a police officer. This will make sure that the content is actually illegal and not based on domain name, metadata words or search terms etc. Giving out the list publicly would be just stupid. It would be a "how to" for all bad guys and offenders in other countries, as well as a incentive for your guys to actually find a proxy in another country. Should it be used for other stuff than child pornography? I dont know. We do want our police to protect us against crime in RL, on a multitude of levels. Should they do it on the Internet too? I dont know, its a really big discussion.. :-) A recent report from the IWF (Internet Watch Foundation) stated that the number of domains offering child pornography is measured in the hundreds, not hundreds of thousands. Entering them manually should not be a really big problem, as I guess that the police in various countries will cooperate and share information, and will ensure that they are all checked by a human being, probably a police officer. This will make sure that the content is actually illegal and not based on domain name, metadata words or search terms etc.

Giving out the list publicly would be just stupid. It would be a “how to” for all bad guys and offenders in other countries, as well as a incentive for your guys to actually find a proxy in another country.

Should it be used for other stuff than child pornography? I dont know. We do want our police to protect us against crime in RL, on a multitude of levels. Should they do it on the Internet too? I dont know, its a really big discussion.. :-)

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