Lawrence Lessig on the coming "i-Patriot Act"

[Bobert]

This story is super important. Guess who benefits if the internet gets a major overhaul? It's not Al Qaeda that's for sure. :suspicious:

Quote:http://www.boingboing.net/2008/08/05/lawre...essig-on-t.html

Lawrence Lessig on the coming "i-Patriot Act"

Lawrence Lessig, a respected Law Professor from Stanford University told an audience at this years Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference in Half Moon Bay, California, that <span style="color:#FF0000">“There’s going to be an i-9/11 event” which will act as a catalyst for a radical reworking of the law pertaining to the Internet.

Lessig also revealed that he had learned, during a dinner with former government Counter Terrorism Czar Richard Clarke, <span style="color:#FF0000">that there is already in existence a cyber equivalent of the Patriot Act, an “i-Patriot Act” if you will, and that the Justice Department is waiting for a cyber terrorism event in order to implement its provisions.

Excerpt:

Lessig: "I had dinner once with Richard Clark at the table and I said 'is there an equivalent to the Patriot Act -- an iPatriot Act -- just sitting waiting for some substantial event just waiting for them to come have the excuse for radically changing the way the Internet works?' And he said, 'Of course there is' -- and I swear this is what he said, and quote -- 'and Vint Cerf is not going to like it very much.'"

Lessig starts talking about it around 4:30 into the video.