Any time the government becomes involved in something as essential [5
years ago, no -- now, YES] as the internet, things can only get worse.
Never even think of giving the gov't official censorship strength! And
if taking an ISP off-line because it deals with "undersirable foreign
elements" is the max in censorship.
I can remember the days when books were still banned in this country,
despite Amendment I. It was a crime to import, print, or distribute
certain books. As a consequence, I avidly read the low-level porn my
then-hubby snuck in from Japan [it was terrible writing]. And in
college the covers were almost worn off the paperback version of
_Lady_Chatterly's_Lover_ which went from hand to hand to hand across the
campus.
When lives are not at risk [questionable in rare circumstances on the
internet] self-regulation is the best way to go. Of course, I'm still
waiting for Firestone to recall *all* the AT Wilderness tires so my son
can get free replacements, but that's a problem of dealing with a
Japanese owned company and not a matter of law. Even if it were against
the law to sell "less than perfect" tires, the cost of *proving* that
all AT Wilderness [et alia] tires were death traps could be prohibitive.
So the best hope is, once again, self-regulation.
l.d.
-- Arachne V1.66, NON-COMMERCIAL copy, http://arachne.cz/
