Government Wants Control Of Your Browser!

We all know that the feds want more control over the Internet, including the ability to shut it down completely if we're faced with a national emergency... such as most bloggers opining that Obama's newest policy initiative sucks raw oysters.

No, I'm talking today about something worse. Yes, the federal government of the United States of America, otherwise known as the "free world," wants control over your browser. Why? Because they're smarter than the companies involved in making your browser and providing your Internet access.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/14/big-government-in-your-browser/

Administration officials are determined to grab hold of the Internet - for your protection. The latest scheme will be the subject of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday on “The State of Online Consumer Privacy.” Regulators claim various online nuisances such as spam, identity theft and other privacy invasions cry out for government intervention. It’s a classic Washington power grab for the digital era.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Commerce kicked off the latest push in December with reports that suggest Internet commerce is doomed unless Uncle Sam steps in to “coordinate” the private sector’s efforts. “While recent announcements of privacy innovations by a range of companies are encouraging, many companies - both online and offline - do not adequately address consumer privacy interests,” the FTC report stated. The Commerce Department report called for adoption of enhanced “Fair Information Practice Principles.”

You see, the private sector isn't handling privacy well enough, so the government wants step in and "help" them. They want to do this, despite what happened LAST time they tried this.

Over a decade ago, the FTC came close to convincing lawmakers to legislate a similar set of “Fair Information Principles” giving the agency authority to enforce its bureaucratic rules. The regulatory plot was torpedoed when members of the House Republican leadership tasked the Government Accountability Office to measure whether federal government websites abided by the same fair information principles it wanted to impose on the private sector. Ninety-seven percent of official websites - including www.ftc.gov and various Commerce Department websites - failed to meet the standards.

The new standards they proposed are so tough that they themselves cannot meet them. And since they cannot meet those standards, we should accept their "help" in... meeting those standards? *raises hand* I'm lost, teacher.

Make no mistake, here, this is an incredibly bad idea. The Internet has prospered and flourished precisely BECAUSE it was free of "help" from the federal government. This needs to stay the same.

The Transportation Security Administration pulls out the “it’s for your protection” line to justify the most outrageous privacy invasion of all in subjecting millions of innocent travelers - young and old - to nude photography sessions and groping.

The blue-gloved hands of government must be kept off the Internet. Market forces have proved up to the task of keeping bad actors in line. Facebook, for example, updated its policies to better protect privacy in light of widespread complaints. Those unsatisfied with the changes are under no obligation to use the social networking website. That wouldn’t be the case if the bureaucracy had the authority to promulgate rules and regulation. The Internet has thrived precisely because it has been free of such red tape. It needs to stay that way.

Is there no limit to power grabs from our federal government? I don't think there is, but would love to be convinced otherwise...