http://news.com.com/2010-1069-963537.html Perspective: Privacy advocates lose an ally By Declan McCullagh October 28, 2002, 10:00 AM PT WASHINGTON--I'm going to miss Dick Armey, the crusty Texas Republican and House majority leader who is retiring after 17 years in Congress. No, I won't miss his repeated attempts to outlaw electronic vice. An unapologetic social conservative, Armey voted to restrict online sales of alcohol, prohibit Internet gambling and restrict the sale of violent videogames to minors. Still, Armey emerged as one of the finest champions of privacy in Washington, and his departure means that the House leadership will no longer include anyone attuned to the perils of electronic snooping. As second-in-command in the GOP's congressional leadership, Armey has been in a perfect position to block hideous proposals while shepherding better ones toward floor votes. [...] Unlike many of his colleagues, Armey understands a key difference between corporate privacy invaders and government ones: Governments have far more power and are far more threatening. Don't like a company's privacy policy? Shop somewhere else. Just try saying that to City Hall or the Internal Revenue Service. "The big difference between the private sector and the government is that government transactions either are, or are perceived to be, mandatory," Armey said. "The private sector never has the ability to coerce you into doing something." [...] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/ Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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