China Monitors WiFi, US Takes Notes?
from the but-but-THEY-are-doing-it dept
In a move that perhaps surprises no one, China is now requiring all providers of free WiFi to install expensive monitoring software that tracks their users, or face heavy fines. According to the officials in the Dongcheng Public Security Bureau, the rules are in place to catch people who "conduct blackmail, traffic goods, gamble, propagate damaging information and spread computer viruses." And I'm sure if they just happen to catch a political dissident here and there, well, that would just be a fortuitous turn of events.I think even the least cynical among us can see what the real aim is here. What concerns me, however, is how the US will respond.
If history is any indication, US officials will denounce this as a restriction on free speech, while at the same time making sure to vigorously support such restrictions at home. They'll probably decry the new Chinese efforts as privacy invasive while doing their best to make ISPs retain data on customers for law enforcement use. No doubt they will have strong words to say about internet censorship around the globe while they craft bills to take down websites with little or no due process. In fact, the very notion of open WiFi itself has been under siege for quite some time. Operating an open connection can already get your internet disconnected, or have your house raided by a swat team. With all that hypocrisy in mind, the next step for the US with regard to open WiFi seems pretty clear.
Lest you think I am engaging in hyperbole, perhaps an exercise is in order. All we need to do is to adjust the stated goals of the Chinese to match current US culture and politics:
1. "Blackmail" is not a hot button issue here, so they might want to claim the needed data retention policies are to stop child porn instead. That always sells well.
2. "Traffic Goods" sounds an awful lot like trading in counterfeit goods. And of course we know that selling fake medicine is just like copyright infringement.
3. "Gambling" is easy enough. We already seize poker sites. We even set up our own fake payment sites so we can steal money from gamblers too!
4. "Propagate damaging information?" What could be more damaging than wikileaks, which we're trying desperately to charge with something (anything!).
5. "Spread computer viruses" fits nicely into the current cybercrime fear-mongering.
Can anyone honestly say that they can't see a US politician standing up tomorrow to announce that we need to start monitoring our own open WiFi connections to stop "child pornography, copyright infringement, online gambling, disclosure of national secrets, and cybercrime?" That's practically the holy grail of political grandstanding, and what politician is going to speak out against that?
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Filed Under: china, monitoring, wifi
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In the US, you will likely see changes to laws that create an offence is "aiding or abetting" crimes committed over an open wi-fi connection. It's clearly a real issue going forward.
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So in the usual left hand not aware of the right hand tactic of the US government, they will probably clamp down on open WiFi and at the same time be funding this project. Fun stuff.
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Re:
I was looking for a link to an article about the notorious bootlegger and rumrunner who was riding in the front car of the Temperance parade, but this one is close enough...
1920's Prohibition:
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you kiddin mike?
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/01/19/free-public-wi-fi-dangerous-credit-c ard/
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Re: you kiddin mike?
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Re: Re: you kiddin mike?
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Probably nobody is paying much attention to that right now since LuLz is giving them a bad hair day apparently.
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Adjusted from a statement about the Ku Klux Klan.
Sad, but appears to be true.
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Software hack in 3..2..1..
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Re: Software hack in 3..2..1..
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Maybe the USA government will get afraid of the second largest company in the world in telecom and network equipment and pass some laws.
More and more America looks like an island.
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Wifi
Thanks Casey Mahoney
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W I. F I. Use.
What do u mean. By Secure wifi ?
I have Intl student - she uses wifi - to call
Parents at home
AB
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