Is it wise to grant the feds
power to block web sites?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is raising alarm over a measure it sees as a maneuver to grant the federal government power to directly censor the internet.

According to the foundation, "The dangerous PROTECT IP Internet censorship bill (or PIPA) seeks to grant the government new powers to force ISPs and search engines to redirect or dump users' attempts to reach websites' URLs, all in the name of stopping websites 'dedicated to infringing activities.' Big media and its allies in Congress are billing the PROTECT IP Act as a new way to prevent online infringement, but Internet rights advocates know that PIPA would invite Internet security risks, threaten online speech, and hamper Internet innovation."

It is certainly true that a powerful group is striving for absolutist information and news control. The problem with alternative sources of information is that it makes the federal-big government propaganda machine potentially unstable. A law that gives the Justice Department power to block sites would without a doubt be abused as clever Justice Department lawyers devise legal technicalities that can be used to stretch the plain language meaning of the law. In addition, the Justice Department might very well keep these interpretations secret, as well as keeping its role secret in the blockade of sites.