e-ignite

I discussed in a recent post about the US and its “Privacy Sledgehammer” where all ISPs have been forced to record web traffic and email data for a long period of time. This was recently appealed by a group of universities and libraries in the US. The US appeals court upheld the law, stating that the requirement was a “reasonable policy choice” - however it should be noted that the decision was not unanimous. One of the appeal judges claimed that the ruling was “convoluted” but did not voice privacy concerns.

It is worrying that personal privacy seems to be being eradicated where internet data is concerned. Personally, I am very surprised that more is not being done globally to combat the problem. Several news sites including Beta News and Slashdot have covered this story, and comments placed about it seem to be against this form of widescale web monitoring. So why is nothing being done? Is everyone just accepting that various governments have decided that you are not entitled to privacy?

It seems that email and IM encryption is becoming more and more necessary as the days go on. Anonymous proxy services such as TOR also seem to be rising in popularity. This is not the way the internet is supposed to be.