Network World

research center:

E-commerce

Search / DocFinder:
Advanced search
Research Centers
Vendor Solutions
Site Resources
Special Issues

Signature SeriesEnterprise All-Stars
Enterprise All-Stars NEW

You in action
You in action

New Data Center The New Data Center: Wireless & Mobility
Wireless & Mobility NEW

The New Data Center: Server Virtualization
Server Virtualization

Putting lipstick on the Internet porno-pig

By Mark Gibbs, Network World, 12/05/05

Before I begin this week's tirade, allow me to point out that the Sony BMG fiasco keeps getting better. Sony has been accused of fraud, false advertising, trespass, violations of state and federal statutes prohibiting malware, and unauthorized computer tampering. Now it appears that the company also has violated software copyrights as well as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act!

Want more? Sony BMG knew way in advance of the snafu being made public that its digital rights management software was considered spyware! I couldn't make this stuff up! See Gibbsblog for more details of things Sony-snafu-ish.

Finally, you can hear me opine about the Sony BMG fiasco on Ed Horrell's "Talk About Service" show.

So, what other than Sony is on my mind this week? Well, the thing that has attracted my attention is the CP80 , which, let me say upfront, is the technological equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig.

CP80's concern is pornography: They see the 'Net as a veritable cyclone of perversity that threatens the very fabric of American society. The chaps pushing this initiative are from an outfit named ThinkAtomic, which is described as a "high-tech think tank" and is based in Orem, Utah.

The idea behind CP80 (which originally stood for Clean Port 80) is this: There are 65,536 possible ports (essentially communication endpoints for data exchanges using IP), and they should be treated as television channels.

In CP80's alternate universe there would be a channel for clean general content - presumably Port 80 - and another for porn - Port 666, perhaps? There presumably would be yet more channels dedicated to content that other groups think should be controlled. (Gee, d'ya think that politics might get involved?)

The pitch is that defining what content is available on what channel - and having strict laws that punish those who use channels improperly - would make filtering easy.

CP80 expert Jill Manning, a marriage and family therapist in Orem, recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution. She discussed the "negative effects of Internet pornography on marriages and families" and called the CP80 proposal "a fresh, thinking-outside-the-box solution that we desperately need."

Among those on board are Sen. Bob Bennett (R-Utah), as well as state Reps. Chris Cannon (R-Utah), Jim Matheson (D-Utah) and Rob Bishop (R-Utah), all well-known technocrats and defenders of our constitutional rights. Also on board is, no surprise, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). That's the same great philosophical thinker and upholder of rights who espoused the view that technology be developed to destroy the computers of people who illegally download music.

CP80 plays directly into the agendas of those whose political ambitions require the public to toe the line. CP80's FAQ reads, "We expect their [sic] to be a government agency that is responsible for the upkeep of the standards and fighting any violators of the law."

Upkeep of standards. Hum. Standards. What could possibly go wrong with that idea? Where in this brave new world would the text of Nabokov's Lolita fit? How about the movie? Most important, who would decide?

If anything, the CP80 scheme is far less practical technically and legally than, for example, the Platform for Internet Content Selection, a far more sophisticated content-rating system that unfortunately didn't get as much attention as it deserved.

In particular, the reliance on law to constrain content is a nightmarish prospect because, if we can't effectively define pornography in the real world, why would new laws for controlled Internet channels make things any better?

No amount of lipstick can make this pig good-looking.

Write to backspin@gibbs.com on any channel.

Network World's Hot seat with John Gallant. Five minutes. Unscripted. Unexpected.

Interview: Keeping insider information inside
PortAuthority's appliance-based approach to data protection helps keep company secrets from getting out. PortAuthority President and CEO Pete Foley explains how it all works on this week's Network World Hot Seat.Watch it now

All Hot Seat videos

TOP STORIES | MOST DUGG STORIES

  1. Is the Cisco MARS mission going to abort?
  2. First iPhone worm spreads Rick Astley wallpaper
  3. 10 stunning 3D buildings made with Google SketchUp
  4. Open source software ready for big business
  5. Four reasons to buy (and one reason to avoid) the Droid
  6. Vendors scrambling to fix bug in 'Net's security
  7. Lamp hijacks electricity from unused telephone jacks
  8. AT&T sues Verizon over TV ads
  9. Microsoft Linux: Why one free software advocate wants it
  10. Volpi bragged he could get Cisco's top stars to jump ship

2009 Fave RavesNetwork World on Twitter: Get our tweets and stay plugged in to networking news

Newsletters
Sign up for one of NWW's Ecommerce newsletters.

Data Center
Data Center News Alert
Network Optimization
Outsourcing
View all newsletters

Email Address:

Vendor Solutions

White Papers

Managing the Tidal Wave of Data Tivoli Storage Management
- IBM

IBM ISS X-Force Threat and Risk Report
- IBM

A Shot Across the Bow of Dell and HP
- Lenovo

More...

Special Report

Gartner Research Report: Magic Quadrant for Application Delivery Controllers, 2009 - F5 Networks
The market for products to improve the delivery of application software over networks remains dynamic and innovative. Vendors focused on solving enterprises' most-pressing application problems have become the top players.


Research Centers: Applications | Application Development | Applications-Standards | Applications Vendor Solutions | Collaboration | CRM / ERP | Databases | Directories | Grid Computing | Java | Messaging | .Net | RFID | SOAP | Web Services | XML | Convergence & VoIP | Convergence Regulatory | Convergence Services | Convergence Standards | Convergence VoIP Vendor Solutions | Video | IP PBX | SIP | VoIP | VoIP Services | E-Business | DNS | RFID | Supply Chain | Web security LANs & Routers | Acceleration | Gigabit Ethernet | Lans-Standards | Routers | Wireless LANs | Network Management | Application Management | Desktop Management | Management Test Patch Management | Operating Systems | Linux | NetWare | Unix | Windows Outsourcing | Managed Services | Offshoring Security | Firewalls - VPN - Intrusion | Identity management | Patch Management | Microsoft Security | Privacy | Security Standards | Spam & Phishing | Viruses & worms | Web Security | Wireless Security | Servers & Desktop | Backup-Recovery | DataCenter | Desktops | Desktop Management | Grid | Servers | Server Blades | Servers Desktops | Utility Computing | Small & Medium Business | Broadband | Telework | Handhelds & PDAs | Home Networking | Security | Storage | Compliance | Infiniband | Network-Attached Storage | SANs | Storage Management | Storage Virtualization | Virtualization | Vendor News | Bankruptcy | Earnings | Lawsuits | Layoffs | Standards | Start Ups | Vendor Markets | Education | Financial | Healthcare | HIPAA | Manufacturing | Retail | Wide Area Network | Broadband | Carriers | Frame Relay | Metro Ethernet | MPLS | Service providers | Wireless services | Wireless & Mobile | Wireless LANs | PDAs & handhelds | Wireless Security | Wireless Services | Wireless Standards | Wireless Switches | All Company Profiles