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The Ugliness of Privacy Notices
Let's be honest here. Do you really think McCain has read Wu's piece on wireless Carterfone? Of course not. It is no coincidence that he is receiving tech advice from Meg Whitman (former CEO of eBay/Skype) and Pablo Chavez (senior Google lobbyist and former McCain chief counsel).
McCain opposes "unnecessary" regulation of the Internet, and you proclaim:
"Even a hardened Ron Paul/Bob Taft/Grover Cleveland/Jack Randolph-survivalist/libertarian-crank like me can rally behind that banner."
Really? As James pointed out last week, the FCC currently "does not regulate the Internet or Internet Service Providers." By including "unnecessary," he commits to begin regulating the Internet...as long as its "necessary." This is a loophole any lobbyist can drive a truck through. Defining "necessary" regulation is like defining "reasonable" network management. As long as Meg Whitman and Pablo Chavez are involved, my guess is that "necessary" will mean any regulation that benefits Skype or Google.
Furthermore, did you notice that McCain also released "Ensuring the Personal Security and Privacy of Americans in the Digital Age." Essentially, you can think of it as the McCain manifesto on protecting the children. It reminds us of his staunch support for COPA, and his sponsorship of COPPA. Obama has him beat by a mile on this issue:
"Obama values our First Amendment freedoms and our right to artistic expression and does not view regulation as the answer to these concerns. Instead, an Obama administration will give parents the tools and information they need to control what their children see on television and the Internet in ways fully consistent with the First Amendment."
Incidentally, I'd be curious to hear more from the crowd about McCain's record on Internet issues. I know he introduced CIPA, the Children’s Internet Protection Act, which ties Federal funding for schools & libraries to blocking pornography. But on COPA, for example, there was no clear vote, since that mockery of the First Amendment was rolled into the omnibus appropriations bill back in 1998.
http://supreme.lp.findlaw.com/Supreme_Court/bri...
I'd like to work for the McCain campaign just to knock these ruffians around.