Flow My Thoughts, The IT Professor Said

Trust Me, I'm Your Computer!

http://www.againsttcpa.com/tcpa-faq-en.html

I have commented on the "trusted computing" issue several times in this blog -- the indexed article discusses the ins and outs of this technology, and overall holds it to be a Bad Thing And A Bad King. As do I.

But we have to realize that some of the things which trusted computing is intended to implement are not in the least objectionable [I have, for example, no problem at all with Microsoft being able to enforce payment on all who use its products], and will, in fact be highly desirable to a small minority, who just happen to have access to the levers controlling the legislative system. It is equally true that some of the things which trusted computing could do are highly objectionable.

Then the question must be re-focussed: are the costs worth the benefits? In particular, would it be possible to control some of the objectionable aspects through the operation of standard commercial law? The problem with a positive answer here is that the technology of enforcement is sufficiently stealthy that it might be extremely difficult to detect and remedy non-compliance with such law.

Like many other things in IT and life in general, when examined closely, this does not turn out to be a simple topic at all, and we may get answers less by prescription in advance than by muddling through and working out what prove to be the inevitable consequences.

Posted by jho at January 28, 2004 10:22 AM