huridocs-tech Anonymous web-surfing should be a criminal offense

[Another interesting message from the "politech" listserv.]

The original article:
   http://www.webwereld.nl/nav/n?3300

The English summary written in part by Ted Byfield of nettime, courtesy of
Ulf Möller and Axel Horns:
   http://www.heise.de/tp/english/inhalt/te/5592/1.html

"Anonymous web-surfing should be a criminal offense"

A Dutch Member of Parliament, Oussama Cherribi, who formerly opposed
Scientology by posting its copyrighted documents on his  website,
came out against anonymity on the net. Without anonymity, the
materials that elevated Scientology from a mere wealthy "religious"
cult to a butt of net.scorn never would have  come to light -- let
alone into Cherribi's hands. His outburst was provoked by an
announcement by  XS4ALL, the venerable Dutch ISP with roots in the
"Hacktic" techno-anarchist collective, that it would participate in
Zero Knowledge Systems'  Freedom Network, a new client-server network
for obscuring the activities and identities of netizens as they go
about their net.business.

The Dutch e-zine _Webwereld_ quoted him as saying, "Anonymous web
surfing should be a criminal offense, and unlimited anonymity should
become a penal offense." The predictable  justification: "It is a
matter of the security of the state." We expect many more "official"
reactions of this kind to Freedom; but, given the spotty track record
of hysterical law-and-order fanatics, we won't regard their
criticisms as authoritative recommendations that  Freedom really is
as good as we would like.


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