Randomize

I read today (somewhere) that an FBI agent claimed that we need a newer, “secure” Internet.

I agree that we do need a newer Interenet.

But one that is secure for the people, not for the government.

First, there was the illegal domestic spying, and Bush still wants us to let the telcos off the hook for being his henchmen, despite zero evidence that the Bush administration had no ability to follow the FISA laws on the books and still get their precious wiretaps/i-taps.

And they are still watching every packet passing over the Internet. Congratulations, you’ve probably been flagged as some sort of reactionary just for reading this post.

Then there’s the RIAA/MPAA lawsuits, trapping thousands of students and computer-illiterate grannies in their web. Yet, I can turn on any radio or TV and hear the same music, watch the same movies, and even legally record them for my own use. (I pay for my music, but I think that any business model that is based on artificial digital scarcity deserves to be outmoded).

Now, there’s the WikiLeak case. Forget wiretaps and lawsuits, now judges can just order for a domain name itself to be taken offline by going straight to the registrar. No need to deal with the hosting company (which may not be in US jurisdiction).

So, yes, we do need a new Internet.

One that:

• Does not rely on a centralized domain resolution system (and is, in fact, domain-less).
• Does not, like BitTorrent, require a centralized web server to “track” traffic nodes.
• Does not rely on connections between IP addresses that can be individually identified.
• Does not require a single entity (like WikiLeaks) to “host” a site, but rather distributes it to a number of nodes.
• Does not require a routable IP address, since apparently IPv4 is going to run out soon and we’re all going to be forced behind NAT “for enhanced security.”
• Replaces the broken mish-mash of email and social networks with a core-level, decentralized, spam-proof reputation and identity system.
• Still uses the lowly web browser and hypertext interface.
• Is impervious to casual government snooping.

Maybe Torr, BitTorrent, and other technologies are already addressing these weak spots, but I don’t see anything on the horizon yet that will solve the coming death of the Internet as we know it.