Update (January 8, 2011):

ACLU: Don't Put Your Trust in "Trusted Identities"

As I've discussed in Why the New Federal "Trusted Internet Identity" Proposal is Such a Very Bad Idea and postings linked within that article, NSTIC is an incredibly dangerous concept fraught with all manner of major direct and collateral risks to individuals, organizations, freedom of speech, and civil rights in general.

In contrast to the benign concepts of Net Neutrality -- which despite right-wing claims to the contrary will not result in a government "takeover" of the Internet or the muzzling of free speech -- NSTIC in fact carries very much those actual risks.

NSTIC will never remain "voluntary" as its proponents claim. It will ultimately put the government firmly into every networked computing device that we use, and become the key mechanism to track users, control access to information, eliminate legitimate anonymity, and otherwise convert the Internet into a tool more suited for future oppression than open communication.

So to Glenn Beck, FOX News, and the various legislators who have been burning so much air time with anti-Net Neutrality rants, take a good look at NSTIC. Even by your own standards, NSTIC is a fire-breathing, city-smashing Godzilla compared with Net Neutrality's Bambi.

And to everyone else who cares about an Open Internet, free expression, and civil liberties, get ready for Internet freedom battles like you've never seen before. The war to protect our freedoms on the Internet has only just begun.

--Lauren--

Update (January 8, 2011):