E-Commerce Law Week, Issue 420

Score Two for Internet Anonymity
Governments around the world have taken or are considering measures to reduce the anonymity of Internet users in order to facilitate cybercrime or counterterrorism investigations, enhance censorship, or discourage defamatory speech. In the United States, though, several recent court decisions have come down largely in favor of protecting Internet users' right to anonymity, at least against discovery by private litigants.  In late May, bloggers and Internet service providers successfully halted an effort by Apple computer to force ISPs to identify people who allegedly leaked trade secrets to rumor websites. More recently, courts in Arizona and the District of Columbia held that plaintiffs have to meet a heightened evidentiary standard before they can subpoena ISPs to unmask Internet users' identities. So the battle over Internet anonymity is by no means over.

Will Arnold Make California the Kindergarten Cybercop?
People may disagree about whether the benefits of state breach notification laws, starting with California's, have been worth the burdens imposed on companies. But the laws clearly have had some effect in improving cyber security. It's doubtful though that the same will be said about California's latest foray into cyber security, which focuses on the issue of piggybacking on wireless access points. Assembly Bill No. 2415, unanimously passed by the Assembly on August 29, would require all new wireless routers sold in California to include one of three alternative means for warning consumers about how to protect their devices from unauthorized connections. It's not clear that the bill would actually force router manufacturers to do anything they're not already doing, so in that sense the bill may be harmless legislative doggerel. But it does suggest a "nanny state" attitude toward computer users that seems a bit overdone. It also seems a bit weird coming from the state where cities and companies are offering free wi-fi hotspots, which pose some of the same risks noted by the Assembly. It's now up to the governator to decide whether this bill becomes law.

Libya Joins the "Good Guys"
On August 31, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the US Department of Commerce released a regulation relaxing US export controls on Libya, so that Libya is now treated for export control purposes like other "normal" countries (e.g., Mexico or China). Among other things, this means that US-origin encryption software and hardware can be exported to Libya after a one-time technical review by BIS. This liberalization is a fairly direct result of the decision of Libya in late 2004 to give up its nuclear weapons program and begin cooperating with the US in the war on terrorism.  That is, Muammar Gadaffi appeared to have changed his stripes. Ironically, on the same day the regulation was published, Gadaffi gave a speech urging his followers to "kill enemies" that ask for political change in Libya, raising questions about whether Libya truly has left the "dark side" for good.

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