spam control again

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

On Mon, 14 Jul 2003 16:03:47 -0400 (EDT)
josephc at etards.net wrote:

> We can throw out your reply right there. The US constitution should
> have NO BEARING on the Internet. The Internet is more than the US, and
> if we're going to start applying a country's laws to it, I think we
> would be better served looking beyond our borders.
This is very problematical. Yes, the Internet is global. But, there
should be a set of rules that govern the Internet analogous to the
international rules that govern the oceans. 
But, if the laws of the US (or the individual states) do not apply,
period, then there can be no criminal acts on the Internet, but there
also cannot be commerce. 

I think we need some form of reasonable international laws that deal
with the Internet that law enforcement agencies can use to deal with
things like credit card fraud, identity theft, and other "criminal"
acts. The problem is in difining a "criminal" act. In some countries,
just speaking one's mind is a criminal act. Or even the practicing of a
religion other than the state religion is a criminal act. Or, in the US,
just having some pictures of naked adult women that would be legal in
most magazines could be made illegal. 
-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix user group
http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9
PGP Key fingerprint:053C 73EC 3AC1 5C44 3E14 9245 FB00 3ED5 C506 1EA9
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