Securing access and privacy on the internet

Abstract

Summary There are hundreds if not thousands of other flashpoints around the world that pit supporters of freedom of cyber-speech and universal access to Internet resources against mostly government interests that are seeking to control the Internet and restrict the content of information transmitted across it. The FBI has become a self-appointed jury and judge on the proper future uses of the international data highway. It is assisted on the technical surveillance side by the NSA, the world's largest collector of digital data. It is important, therefore, to quote Judge William Webster, the former head of both the FBI and NSA (the latter in his capacity as Director of Central Intelligence): “… The FBI does not need to be ‘unleashed’. It must not be seen as authorized to infiltrate organizations merely because they are regarded as suspicious or hostile to the policies of those in power. The tools can be improved, but the Constitutional requirements must be respected and observed. This is the best formula I know for the preservation of Ordered Liberty in America.” And to that one might add: “and everywhere else in the world”.