Quite a few years ago, in response to a completely different ‘crisis’ I came up with a system to help my hosting business.
Back then I ran a hosting service, (Triolog Hosting) reselling Hostgator packages for client use. Didn’t make a dime cause I gave away the hosting. But alas there was a good thing that came from that experience: the creation of the system that can solve on-line child predators and child pornography.
Today, a bunch of well meaning politicos and law enforcement types gathered to include the big tech companies in working together, voluntarily to combat child abuse, human traffiking and child pornography. And like they always do, they invited the problem to help fix it. That is just stupid.
Instead of asking the big tech companies to take more control over content online, in the name of protecting the children: these well meaning yet droll politicians should have opened the solution up to anyone. Then if they want the big 5 monsters to build it, fine. But there hasn’t been a new idea come out of those tech giants in two decades and YOU KNOW IT. Innovation is lazy invention.
Those well meaning boring people always manage by crisis. This is no different. Crisis management patches. It does not solve.
The solution to on-line problems is the access gateway.
If anyone seeking to gain access to the internet, whether that’s cable, dial up , DSL or direct fiber OR buying a hosting account to place content on the Internet had to register at the same place to gain access first that would be granting access no different than checking a credit report.
The service cannot be government as it needs to cross the globe. It can have no powers or authorities. It can only accept sign ups, track that person’s use of the Internet by account (NOT BY ACTION) and it has to accept feedback reporting from every access provider and hosting provider on the planet.
Ask to buy a hosting account? In the background, run through this system. If not reported as any improper activity, access granted. It is then up to the hosting company to honor that grant or not BUT every hosting company not granting access MUST report that to the system. Any person kicked out for activity, including ANY improper activity could not use the same address, the same name, the same credit or debit card. Any hosting company not complying would not be able to acquire access themselves. Same thing with cable and other access accounts. Listed in the sytem and good? Fine. Not? Nope. No access.
It won’t take long for this system to self-populate and it is no different than a credit card check. Any reports of illegal activity would be immediately reported to the proper law enforcement agency. Hosting companys then say out of the control business and rely on this system to keep bad guys away. And to catch bad guys once they get into it.
DO NOT try to fix serious issues with crisis management.
Attorney General Bill Barr today said “We live in a digital age, and like everyone else, human traffickers are relying increasingly on digital communication and the internet … and more and more, the evidence we rely on to detect and to deal with these predators is digital evidence. However, increasingly, this evidence is being encrypted.”
Encryption is the topic after the horses have left the barn and its burning down.
EVERYONE needs access to do anything good or bad and THAT is where you control, catch and prohibit its abuse.
Make something new. Or all you are doing politicos: is pandering.