Rich Fiscus
25 Jul 2007 9:38
Henry Waxman, chairman of the House of Representatives' Government Reform Committee, characterized peer to peer file sharing networks as national security threats. The comments were made during a hearing about the technology, which was apparently used to share classified documents.
He also said that he is considering laws to address the problem, but didn't give any details as to what those laws might entail.
The comments seem to contradict the testimony of Mary Koelbel Engle, the associate director for advertising practices in the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer Protection. She said her agency has found in its studies of peer-to-peer network use that risks to sensitive information "stem largely from how individuals use the technology rather than being inherent in the technology itself."
Daniel Mintz, chief information officer for the Department of Transportation, also testified, saying that the key to preventing such incidents is "to make sure we're really pushing the policy," which requires written authorization for installation of P2P programs on government machines.
There was no mention of manilla envelope, briefcase, or automobile manufacturers, despite these technologies all being used for the unauthorized distribution of classified documents in the past.
Politicians with a limited understanding of the technology they're determined to regulate is nothing new. Less than 2 weeks ago Ted Stevens, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, called the internet a "series of tubes", adding that an internet was sent to him by his staff, but it's delivery was delayed "because it got tangled up with all these things going on the Internet commercially."
While comments like these are amusing on their face, the fact that Stevens' position as committee chair may be a deciding factor in the so called net neutrality debate in the US may be cause for concern.
Source: CNet News