A little taste of the future

Lauren Weinstein called out a proposal last Friday by the White House called National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. I haven't read through it yet, but it's certain to be interesting. I'll post some impressions when I have gone through it. I'm eagerly awaiting commentary by Bruce Schneier and Ed Felten.

This could turn out to be a defining moment for the internet.

What's at issue here is how you are defined as an individual on the internet. How does anybody know you are you? Do they know you're a dog? Sometimes it doesn't matter. Sometimes it does. If you're trying to purchase something online, it seems reasonable for the other party to want to be certain that you are not a mugger who stole your credit card (and for you to want to be certain that you are communicating with a legitimate merchant and not a fake web site). If you're a whistleblower, it seems reasonable for you to wish to hide your identity. If you are a stalker, it seems reasonable for law enforcement to have the capacity to identify you despite pains you may have taken to hide your identity. The ability of the merchant and law enforcement to identify you unambiguously may be in direct opposition to the whistleblower's need for anonymity.

At this point, as I understand it, the proposal claims to be voluntary for "the public". Of course, once the infrastructure is in place, the foot is in the door and it becomes easier to turn it into a legal matter to mandate it for all internet access.

Which is why we should pay attention now.