Re: Patty Murray's "childsafe internet act" -- ugh!

I'm not a real doofus, but I play one at a national laboratory. (BAISLEY@fndcd.fnal.gov)
Fri, 27 Jun 1997 11:17:04 -0500


> 1) Ensure every parent with a computer has access to filtering software.

I simply love legislation like unto this. %-(

That's what we have markets for, ensuring access to useful things. When the
government "ensures access" to something, it either means they are requiring
you to buy things which you probably don't want or need, forcibly taking your
money to do the same, and/or creating a market demand for generally inferior
products (usually the Worst Is Best (TM) ones).

> 3) Create incentives for webpage creators to rate their own pages for
content.

Your tax dollars at work again, "creating incentives" that may have no actual
benefit to you.

> 7) Create a 1-800 number to provide concerned parents with a mechanism

Paid for by you, one way or another.

Cheers,
Wayne

I'm gonna have to reread Hayek's Road To Serfdom. I'll bet his warnings on the
takeover of "the means of production" is readily generalized to "the means of
data access". His warnings on Truth require no updating.