How about the internet is like your land line phone.   The courts have held you have an expectation of privacy. I personally expect my emails not to be read and I do not want anything I do on ht  web to be accessed unless they meet my 4th amendment rights.   ------------------------ Keith Smith (520) 207-9877 PHP Programmer --- On Sat, 6/28/08, Jason Spatafore wrote: From: Jason Spatafore Subject: OT: Survelliance in America To: "Main PLUG discussion list" Date: Saturday, June 28, 2008, 3:58 PM We shouldn't be as worried about being monitored as we should be worried about admission of the monitored activities in a court of law. I think it should be fine to be monitored on the Internet, just like you shouldn't have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" when walking down the street. The Internet is essentially a publicly monitored, yet private roadway. Anything going over the wires can and should be permitted to be monitored. When you pay a toll for a toll road, do you expect no cameras to be there because you paid to be on that road? The Internet is the same. However, I do not believe that such monitoring should be allowed in a court of law as "evidence" or that such monitoring should be permitted as "public information". What I mean here is that I think it should be illegal for a person to post a picture passed via email (or the email itself) onto a newsgroup or forum and mark it as "public information". Such an act should be considered illegal by some type of law, whether it's slander or some other already established law. I also don't believe that such monitoring should be permitted to obtain a warrant to monitor nor should it be admissible as evidence. It shouldn't be illegal to *listen*, but it should be illegal to "repeat" or take action based off the information (much like insider trading laws). If I spy on my neighbor by packet sniffing his router, that should not be illegal. However, whatever I *do* with the information I obtained should be punishable by law. The same standards should be held to the government. Yes, you should be able to listen. No, you cannot do anything with what you've heard. Of course, you can take it one step further and ask: "Should the government be permitted to hack into your computer and watch you on the webcam connected to the PC?" That's where I would say "No". The difference is because they are opening the door, not you. When you go online (physically take action to surf the net or send email), you are opening the door and stepping out into the street. When your computer is just connected to the Internet, then you are not out in the street...your door is closed and your expectation of privacy should be protected. (Locking your door is not an argument...you shouldn't have to lock your door to expect privacy....you should only have to close it.) --------------------------------------------------- PLUG-discuss mailing list - PLUG-discuss@lists.plug.phoenix.az.us To subscribe, unsubscribe, or to change your mail settings: http://lists.PLUG.phoenix.az.us/mailman/listinfo/plug-discuss