FC: Ed Markey wants ratings; FinCEN on e-surveillance; Epstein

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

[One assumes that Markey's universal ratings system would not apply to 
newspapers or books. Maybe. --Declan]


http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38913,00.html

   House Dem Into Ratings Regs
   by Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com)

   3:00 a.m. Sep. 22, 2000 PDT
   WASHINGTON -- Rep. Ed Markey doesn't just hope the Democrats will
   seize control of the U.S. House of Representatives. He's certain of
   it.

   "I'm only six weeks away from being chairman again," grins Markey, the
   ranking Democrat on the House telecommunications subcommittee. The
   panel oversees Internet and consumer privacy issues.

   If the Republicans lose their House majority, the partisan shift
   toward the left is likely to mean more regulation of technology and
   corporations. And Markey, a 24-year veteran legislator from
   Massachusetts, already knows just what he wants to do.

   [...]


http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38955,00.html

   Feds: Digital Cash Can Thwart Us
   by Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com)

   3:00 a.m. Sep. 22, 2000 PDT
   WASHINGTON -- A Treasury Department report warns that technologies
   such as the Internet and electronic cash could thwart the federal
   government's efforts to conduct surveillance of bank and credit card
   transactions.

   The internal strategic plan predicts that technology may help law
   enforcement by allowing agents to assemble ever-growing databases of
   Americans' financial activities, but it can also provide more
   anonymity than ever before.

   Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) prepared the
   36-page document, which was obtained by Wired News.

   It says: "The development of new technologies -- such as electronic
   cash, electronic purses, Internet or smartcard based electronic
   payment systems, and Internet banking -- is increasing the ability of
   individuals to rapidly transfer large sums of money, and could pose a
   challenge for FinCEN and other law enforcement agencies combating
   money laundering."

   [...]


http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,38893,00.html

   Expert: Go Easy on Privacy Regs
   by Declan McCullagh (declan () wired com)

   9:00 a.m. Sep. 19, 2000 PDT
   WASHINGTON - Say what you will about Richard Epstein, but don't call
   him a privacy zealot.

   The erudite University of Chicago law professor said Tuesday that
   instead of staking out extreme positions on both sides of the topic,
   advocates instead should consider the likely outcome of government
   regulations.

   "Privacy is not an area in which you should want to make highly
   dogmatic claims of rights on either side," Epstein said at a Capitol
   Hill event organized by George Mason University's Mercatus Center.

   [...]




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