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free your 'net and your, uh, whatever
Sep. 2nd, 2003 09:29 amSo apparently the US is funding Anonymizer to provide proxying for Iran and China, so that dissidents can access stuff blocked by the incumbent regime's proxies. This is to be applauded, but I have a few issues with it:
Firstly, Anonymizer say that they change the IP address of the proxy in response to evidence that the government bitkeepers are filtering it. Er. What if they filter by hostname instead? I'm assuming, of course, that the users have to connect to it by hostname; otherwise, every time they change the IP address, all these dissidents are going to have to find out the new address and reconfigure.
Secondly, Anonymizer say that they're advertising this in Iran via mass mailings to addresses provided by human rights organizations. That's, er, spam. It's beneficial spam, I guess, but it's still spam.
Thirdly, Anonymizer is being funded by USgov? How much access does USgov get to Anonymizer's records, then? I had an account with Anonymizer for a year, but I'd think twice before signing up again.
Fourthly, there's a certain irony here; after all, this is a "free your internet" cry coming from the same country that attempted to apply broad internet censorship starting with the CDA in 1996, and continues to do so with such choice pieces of literature as COPA and the various proposed anti-P2P legislation. In fact, they're blocking access to pornography through this proxy because, "There's a limit to what taxpayers should pay for". So what else gets blocked?
Food for thought.
Firstly, Anonymizer say that they change the IP address of the proxy in response to evidence that the government bitkeepers are filtering it. Er. What if they filter by hostname instead? I'm assuming, of course, that the users have to connect to it by hostname; otherwise, every time they change the IP address, all these dissidents are going to have to find out the new address and reconfigure.
Secondly, Anonymizer say that they're advertising this in Iran via mass mailings to addresses provided by human rights organizations. That's, er, spam. It's beneficial spam, I guess, but it's still spam.
Thirdly, Anonymizer is being funded by USgov? How much access does USgov get to Anonymizer's records, then? I had an account with Anonymizer for a year, but I'd think twice before signing up again.
Fourthly, there's a certain irony here; after all, this is a "free your internet" cry coming from the same country that attempted to apply broad internet censorship starting with the CDA in 1996, and continues to do so with such choice pieces of literature as COPA and the various proposed anti-P2P legislation. In fact, they're blocking access to pornography through this proxy because, "There's a limit to what taxpayers should pay for". So what else gets blocked?
Food for thought.
