by James Tressler

“Internet Blows CIA Cover”

This headline appeared recently in the Chicago Tribune . The newspaper obtained 2,653 names of CIA operatives on Internet. The Tribune ran the story, but at the CIA’s request didn't publish the names.

“Cover is a complex issue that is more complex in the Internet Age,” CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Dyck told reporters.
No shit. If the CIA can't keep its ass from being exposed by any wingnut with Google access, we really are in a new world. So while CIA brass sits for skull sessions, the rest of us can sigh with relief. Maybe the phones are tapped and library records subpoenaed, but it’s nice to know that if we want to—with a geek’s help—we can turn the tables and put Big Brother under the microscope. The Internet’s seemingly unlimited power is a given. A New Wild West, all that. A paradigm shift in who creates, disperses and controls information. Even the CIA is playing catch-up.

Governments seek to “tame” the New Wild West—there are legitimate reasons: terrorism, child molesters, agents’ identities—while Internet companies struggle to balance openness with the desire for profits, especially in developing markets such as China.  In March, Judge James Ware ordered Google to turn over search data, including 50,000 Web addresses, to the U.S. government. However, he denied a request that Google hand over a list of search requests. The Justice Department had wanted access to search records to research access to online pornography. The judge said privacy considerations led him to deny part of the request.
Ironically, the same U.S. government has been critical of China for ordering Google to censor search results on its Chinese site in order to establish a presence in that country. Google agreed to abide by tight controls by the Chinese government. Yahoo recently turned over names of suspected dissidents to the Chinese government.
Bill Gates, in his 1996 book, The Road Ahead , said the information superhighway was still under construction and it would look quite different. Ten years on, it’s far from finished. Already there’s work on an Internet 2 in the United States, and some speculate there will be a vast circulatory system of disparate Internets, like a conventional road system.
So while it’s possible one day the wild ride will come to an end, or at least be less wild, I doubt it. We all expect the unexpected with the Internet, and probably should continue to do so. 

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