Liberty cries foul—No driver’s licenses for the Internet

By Robert John Stevens, CEO of WriteExpress Corporation

February 3, 2010

As Paul Joseph Watson wrote in his article Time Magazine Pushes Draconian Internet Licensing Plan:

"Time Magazine has enthusiastically jumped on the bandwagon to back Microsoft executive Craig Mundie's call for Internet licensing, as authorities push for a system even more stifling than in Communist China, where only people with government permission would be allowed to express free speech."

Whenever someone or government argues for more regulation, you must ask yourself, “Who benefits?” Let’s brainstorm who would benefit from Internet driver’s licenses.

Anyone who doesn’t like what you write and has enough power and money to revoke your Internet Driver’s License and shut down your Website or blog including:

Opposing political parties
Tyrants, dictators, mobsters, lobbyists, high-profile white collar criminals, the military industrial complex, and any government that wants to shut down free speech
Anyone guilty of treason, crimes against the Constitution, crimes against humanity, and large-scale government theft

Companies that can profit from Internet driver's licenses

Let’s review some of the false arguments of those who wish to take away your online freedom of speech:

False!—Internet security problems are too complex
Baloney! I’ve been a programmer for more than twenty seven years. If academia is interested in solving a problem or if money can be made, smart students, professors or entrepreneurs jump on the opportunity. Complexity is relative—what seems complex to some is trivial to others. Techies thrive on solving complex problems.

False!—Government must require passports to use the Internet
This is being proposed by Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and technology officer. Hey Craig, aren’t you really saying the government should require everyone to get a Microsoft passport account?

Or maybe Novell’s CTO should use fear tactics to persuade governments to use Novell’s SecureLogin solution?

False!—The Internet was never intended to be a worldwide system of mass communication
In 1987, while working on an M.S. in Computer Science at BYU, I was awarded a scholarship in network management. My professor, the late Robert N. Linebarger, was a pioneer in networks. He envisioned much of the Internet as we know it today, shared his dreams in class of its potential, and made frequent announcements regarding its progress.

Visionaries and entrepreneurs all want to create products or services for the entire world, but most of them know they must first solve the problem for a single customer or small group.

False!—At no point did anyone change the way the Internet worked
The argument here is that people can get online without authenticating or “saying who they are.”

If you are required to authenticate or reveal your identify just once, so you do not have to log in again at any site, your identity can also be stolen just once and used everywhere.

False!—Using credit cards online is scary
Credit card companies will reverse charges if your credit card information is stolen.

With a few clicks you can get secure, one-time credit card numbers. For example:

Discover's Secure Online Account Numbers
Citi’s Identity Theft Solutions

The free market provides profitable, no credit card solutions such as:

False!—My credit card information can only be stolen online
You do not have to buy anything online to have your credit card information stolen. Hackers write computer programs to guess your credit card information both online and offline.

Review your credit card charges frequently. Immediately report anything suspicious. If you wish, use just one credit card for online transactions. Reduce your available credit for that credit card. Click on the Better Business Bureau images on Websites to confirm their company’s standing. Create strong passwords for safer online transactions.

False!—It is easy for Websites to accept credit cards
Banks have a rigorous application and review process for anyone to accept credit cards. These application processes continually get more thorough as criminals get smarter. Banks also statistically calculate their risks and expected losses when estimating their profits.

False!—The Internet is still in its Wild West phase
Word Internet Statistics estimates that 1.7 billion people use the Internet. If true and the U.S. Census Bureau is correct in estimating the world population at 6.8 billion, then 25% of humans already use the Internet.

False!—More rigid standards are required to handle Internet lawlessness
The Internet is a standards-based environment with WC3 leading the pack. Representatives from corporations and government continually draft and revise new proposals for standards. Unlike Congress who passes huge bills without reading them, techies go through a long and rigorous process to define, review, modify and agree on standards. Unlike Congress, anyone is allowed to read the bills months or years in advance.

Such statements are designed to persuade readers to give up his or her Internet freedoms.

False!—Anonymity breeds more crime
The argument here is that if your computer is attacked, it is difficult to track the attackers. There is some truth to this but their argument is designed to deceive you. They do not tell you that:

Web servers can detect spikes of traffic and shut down access
Scalable architectures can adapt to increased loads
Website administrators can shut out specific IP addresses or ranges of IP addresses (An IP address is a unique number assigned to each computer on the Internet)
Owners of Websites welcome more traffic, but when traffic peaks it is difficult to detect if the requests come from real people using Web browsers, or automated computer programs designed for good or evil
The IP address is sent with each request. Combining that information with access logs from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), or by tapping into the Internet illegally, government can already track your every movement online.

There are many more points I could make but this isn’t about safe Web servers or virtuous Web surfing, it is about criminals who hate when citizens disclose their crimes online.

Summary—driver’s licenses for the Internet will help government corruption flourish

For free societies to prosper, the Internet must not be controlled by conspiring governments. It expands the miracle of the printing press to everyone, and empowers free men and women to publish their views and opinions. It is also freedom’s vehicle for exposing government and corporate crime.

Decades ago the government reduced the amount of advertising tobacco companies can do. Was that effective? No, the tobacco companies just used entrepreneurial marketing tactics to find more effective ways of reaching the public.

The American colonies did not have the Internet but managed to spread their messages by horseback and word of mouth. Conspiring men and women will continue to create deceptive arguments to shut down free speech on the Internet. It is our duty to stop their every advance.

Tyranny suppresses. Freedom and liberty have the power to unite the masses to good causes, advance innovation, and accelerate economic growth.

This article was commenced on February 3, 2010. Last update: February 3, 2010.