At 10:21 AM -0700 6/16/97, Bill Stewart wrote:
At 08:59 PM 6/13/97 -0700, you wrote:
This is why we need more remailers, and why it's good that you posted anonymously. The proper thing to do is to be "shocked, shocked!" that anything illegal is happening on your server, ... your ecash, sir .... immediately shut it down (counting on the network to be self-healing with the help of an enhanced remailer list), and offer to cooperate fully. Unfortunately, you don't keep logs, so you wouldn't really be able to help (damn!).
Shutting it down would be bad - that gives them an easy denial of service attack (though better to have them use that attack than child porn....)
Another strategy, besides the "I'm shocked, simply shocked, and I'll shut it down immediately, sir!" cave-in, is to say this: "I operate an electronic mail service. I abide by the terms of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the ECPA, and I do not inspect or monitor the contents of the mail flowing in my system. To do so would be a violation of the ECPA. And besides the ECPA, such inspection would be a violation of the property rights of my users. "I take a hands off approach to uses of my mail service, as the ECPA expects me to do, and what customers are sending is none of my concern. "If you have a problem with something sent by one of my customers, or wish to question him or her about the contents of their mail, I suggest you obtain proper court orders and contact him or her directly. "Whether you can identify him or her is your problem, not mine." --Tim May There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws. Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!" ---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---- Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@got.net 408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA | knowledge, reputations, information markets, Higher Power: 2^1398269 | black markets, collapse of governments. "National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."