http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1272904The senior vice president of the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) finds a federal proposal to create an Internet identification system "very troubling."
In hopes of making it easier to visit government websites and improve consumer trust in Internet shopping sites, the federal government has proposed an identity-authentication system for the Internet. But Craig Parshall, who oversees the communications and media efforts of NRB, does not foresee the system reaping positive effects.
"I see this as one more example of massive federal overreach to control and regulate not only the Internet, but the way in which Americans can get in and out of websites, e-mail, and every other platform on the Internet," the Christian attorney and author and explains.
According to a report in The Globe and Mail, the proposed structure for "the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace" would be overseen by an office within the Commerce Department, which is in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security. The voluntary program would assign Internet users a single account that would allow them to interact with multiple websites and government services, eliminating the need for consumers to keep track of usernames and passwords. Parshall, however, is skeptical.
"We have seen repeated attempts by this current administration to justify massive control over communication platforms -- whether it's broadcast platforms or the Internet -- by saying they want us to have an easier life and have more efficient use of information systems," Parshall notes.
So even though the up-sides may sound nice in theory, he concludes that such a system only "increases the muscle that the federal government has over our individual lives."
Topic: Web I.D. = more gov't control (Read 1461 times)