The terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City has breathed new life into proposals designed to make it easier for the police to eavesdrop on electronic communications … “What can they do? Say no political organizing over the Internet? That’s clearly unconstitutional.”
Predictor: Godwin, Mike
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 article in New Scientist, Kurt Kleiner reports on what Mike Godwin and David Banisar are saying about fears that the government may try to control or acquire the ability to tap into secure communications on the Internet. Kleiner writes: ”The terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City has breathed new life into proposals designed to make it easier for the police to eavesdrop on electronic communications. Civil liberties groups have been fighting against the proposals for years, and succeeded in slowing them down. But increased fear of terrorism following last month’s bombing prompted President Clinton to throw his support behind the measures … ‘A lot of civil liberties and industry groups are opposed. But President Clinton linked the proposal to his overall antiterrorism strategy. Yes, we’re concerned about this,’ says Mike Godwin, a lawyer who works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which lobbies for the right to electronic privacy. In the legislative package proposed last week, Clinton urged Congress to approve funding for the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, better known as the wiretap law … Users of the Internet are afraid that there will be some sort of clampdown on them because of the wave of paranoia that has swept the country after the Oklahoma City bombing. Newspapers and TV shows have carried stories about the sort of information that is available over the Internet. For instance, they point out that ‘The Terrorist’s Handbook’ is easy to find, complete with detailed information on how to mix and detonate more than a dozen kinds of explosives, including the one used in the Oklahoma City bombing. It also became clear after the bombing that members of militia groups, such as the one the bomber belonged to, communicate via the Internet. Godwin points out that so far no one in a government position has called for censorship of the Internet. And David Banisar, of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, thinks such censorship is unlikely. ‘What can they do? Say no political organizing over the Internet? That’s clearly unconstitutional.'”
Biography:Mike Godwin was an attorney specializing in Internet issues and the outspoken chief counsel for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the cyber-liberties organization in the 1990s. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Communication
Subtopic: Security/Encryption
Name of publication: New Scientist
Title, headline, chapter name: Electronic Vigilantes Win Friends After Oklahoma Bombing
Quote Type: Partial quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=49c2f041a7c6012eef03f240fd41d1fe&_docnum=1&wchp=dGLbVzz-lSlzV&_md5=6df144336c917895b84fa2df2ac437c5
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Johnson, Kathleen