The outing of the US i-Patriot Act

The media has reported that Lawrence Lessig has outed the i-Patriot Act (an act equivalent to the Patriot Act and which applies to online activities) at a conference yesterday.

Professor Lessig was reporting his conversation with Richard Clark during which the latter revealed that the i-Patriot Act already exists and the Government is waiting for an i 9/11 event (which he latter explained as not meaning a terrorist attack but rather a susbtantial event which would require the government to take definitive and strong action) to deploy it.

The act would change the manner in which cyberspace is regulated in the US and would, in all likelihood, impose tighter controls on online activities. I wonder whether this was an accident outing or a deliberate one. If it was a deliberate one, then one has to wonder whether how imminent the i-9/11 event is.

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