In the Wake of Wiki: Obama’s Internet ID Plan

It seems like only yesterday that I reported on Saudi Arabia’s plan to allow Internet Usage with approved Licenses, and banned Wikileaks from its country. It seems like only yesterday when I decried the horrific seizure against free speech, and commented on how our “ally” the Saudis had sickening regime full of human rights abuses. It seems like yesterday because it WAS yesterday.

So, imagine my surprise when today, our own US government under the watchful guise of a supposed Liberal Democrat (insert eye~roll here) quietly introduces a plan to emulate this ultra-conservative plan set by the Saudi Royalty for controlling American’s right to Free Speech on our own Internet.

I guess locking out hand held devices through the Net Nuetrality bullshit was not enough. So here comes the quiet “beta test” of the next set of lock downs, far more insidious and terrifying…. ones I assure you, in the wake of Wikileaks will become law.

Scared yet? You will be when you read more, below.

My bold, from a report today in the NYT.

“(A) secure cyberspace is critical to the health of our economy and to the security of our Nation. In particular, the Federal Government must address the recent and alarming rise in online fraud, identity theft, and misuse of information online. One key step in reducing online fraud and identity theft is to increase the level of trust associated with identities in cyberspace. While this Strategy recognizes the value of anonymity for many online transactions (e.g., blog postings), for other types of transactions (e.g., online banking or accessing electronic health records) it is important that the parties to that transaction have a high degree of trust that they are interacting with known entities.”

This, despite claims to the contrary is EXACTLY a government-run (or probably eventually contracted out to Lockheed, as most of our security is…) system to force us to have public identities, with traceable actions at every level of internet use.

The basic premise is that no matter what IP you use, you must log in with your Government ID – and thus prove who you are before using it.

Again, from the Times: (note that the draft from which this is taken says it is “elective” for the moment – its beta testing of new software, of course it will not be mandatory until they work out the bugs)

  1. The government will enable the creation of verified identities

  2. The government will create an “Identity Ecosystem”

  3. Getting a verified identity will be elective

  4. Verizon, Google, PayPal, Symantec and AT&T support the program

  5. A user would be able to use one login to sign in to all of their sites

Now, having your private accounts hacked is a frightening ordeal, if not financially devastating for anyone who carries more than my usual almost $100 balance.

Imagine, now, if they hack ONE account, they can hack ALL of your accounts in one fell sweep. Golly, wasn’t it only last year when a boat load of Government Employees found someone mistakenly sent out all their Social Security numbers and private information? Surely, we can trust Big Brother.

Ok, take a deep breath and stay with me here.

In the aftermath of the horrific shooting in Tucson, Democrats want to introduce a bill that makes it “a federal crime to use language or symbols that could be perceived as threatening or inciting violence against a federal official or member of Congress.” Now, I am fairly sure the Tea Baggers won’t allow it to pass, they’d be losing their best brown shirt parrots, but I am not entirely confident either.

I mean, for all the times we wished to rip off Dick Cheney’s head and shit down his throat? Though entirely physically impossible, and written for humor and shock effect, that could effectively put me in jail. I am sure data-mining alone already has my loving mug in their database, and my paltry rants are scanned all the time. I have the DC-Gov hits to warrant that suspicion.

There are already laws in place against direct threat, stalking and doing violence to ANY citizen. One might ask why a new and separate Law is needed to protect those we elect to do OUR bidding, our public SERVANTS.  Are they more valuable, special, worthy than we are?

Between the two laws, effectively any criticism of the Government, any anonymous tip or leak could be traced, sourced and eliminated. This is as closing to actual chipping of us as it gets.

Lets go back to the Saudi model.

Applicants for a licence(sic) need to be Saudi, at least 20 years old and to have graduated from high school. They will also need ‘documents testifying to their good behaviour’. Editors of online newspapers will need to be approved by the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Anyone caught blogging without a licence(sic) will be subject to a fine of up to 100,000 Riyal ($26,665), and/or a ban – possibly forever.

Now, we will never go there…. not while the marketing to the teen sector is so profitable anyway; but the licensing and fines are surely coming.

Now for me? I’m a public blogger. I’m pretty much on the front line list of those to be black bagged and hauled away for being an insurrectionist by objecting to the fascist drift in this country. But for many of you who chose anonymity, this is really a frightening development.

Many of us here have already predicted an internet shut down should there be widespread demonstrations as this broken economy spirals we have-nots into chaos. It is far too fine a coordinating tool. But remember cell phones are already subject to the 2-tiered internet and easier to shut down, haven been proven too effective during Iran’s “Green” revolt. Now they hope to ID and access our Registered moves from our PC’s and Laptops, making it a breeze to “bring in for questioning” any perceived Leader or Activist they see as a threat.

Certainly, if nothing else, there will be inaccessible sites to those who do not have a “smart card” or “digital certificate” to prove that online users are who they say they are.  At best, this will frighten many away from posting, or make them moderate their words in a way that Orwellian cameras could never imagine.

I used to mourn the idea of losing my beloved friends if and when they ever shut down the internet. Ultimately, I have already suffered that dearest of losses, anyway. I hate to sound dire. Those left that care in any way for me, email for my snail mail and phone number. Do that with all your beloved internet friends.

Moreso? If internet ID cards become law, lets all be Assange, lets all register, lets all fight even harder. They cannot possibly take is ALL in.