Not neutrality

As if big telco's getting to charge on both ends of their pipes for moving the bits you read weren't already enough of a problem, now the FBI wants to require the gear makers to build listening ports in to the back end all the equipment. From CNET:

The FBI has drafted sweeping legislation that would require Internet service providers to create wiretapping hubs for police surveillance and force makers of networking gear to build in back doors for eavesdropping, CNET News.com has learned.

I guess that means there is yet some equipment out there that the feds can't already tap? Actually, if you read the article, it looks like ports in PHONE switches are standard but the FBI wants the same universal ease of eavesdropping for VOIP communications. I can hardly wait for the administration and its apologists to tell us there is nothing new here to get alarmed about. Nope, nothing to see here, just move along.

So, along with all the other unnecessary fights and wasters of resources, we have a new skirmish to add to the list of upcoming but interminable squabbles between the power of fear and the fear of power: I'll make a guess that the tussle will take such forms as Phil Zimmerman and his Open Source VOIP encryption scheme getting threats from the bushified intelligence agencies while friends and users of NARUS get less coverage than they should. We should give out points good toward your Koufax standings for any blogger who gets a right wing reprimand for compromising our fatherland security by exposing wholesale spying on citizens.