Internet Bill of Rights (Policy Proposal #9)

Proposed Policy

A) Pornography sites should have the availability of an .xxx extension to be used in their web address. This new Internet address protocol .xxx should be created as a new standard just like com, org, biz, etc.

B) Spam, unsolicited sales mass emails should contain a .spm extension. Fines should apply to offenders not following this policy. The fines would go to Social Security, medical program, and administration of enforcement.

C) Any program that installs or monitors anything on your computer without your approval should be equivalent to trespassing or privacy/home invasion. Fines should apply to offenders not following this policy. Again, the fines would go to Social Security, medical program, and administration of enforcement.

D) Telecom carriers must not be able to regulate data transmission.

What would this accomplish?

A) The pornograph market may then voluntarily want to rename their sites using the .xxx extension. It would help their business by defining the nature of the site and attracting the proper customer. At the same time they could do the right thing. I think we can all agree that we must have a means to protect our children from viewing such sites until they are a mature age. By adding the .xxx extension, filters could be easily added to restrict access. The freedom of the internet is still preserved.

B) Receiving spam is impacting business productivity in a big way. Spam filters are not effective. At the same time spam filters can sometimes remove good messages. Email programs could easily be configured to put .spm messages in a separate folder or automatically delete them. This extension allows freedom of internet while boosting business productivity.

C) Spyware, and programs that are continually running in the background are sapping business productivity. Computers require constant maintenance to operate effectively. For individuals, it is an attack on your property and privacy.

D) There is a risk that large communication carriers can control or regulate internet data transmission which could limit independent innovation.

Commentary

People question the legality of wire-taps, as they should. However, why aren’t we questioning the legality that allows companies & individuals to intrude into our computers? How far should should a company be allowed to collect and track our data? It may be time to draft an internet “bill of rights” to keep our privacy. At the same time we need to preserve the freedom of the internet, promote innovation, and have free flow of information.