Business In The Beltway What Will AOL And MSN Tell Uncle Sam? Matthew Swibel, 11.27.02, 9:05 AM ET WASHINGTON - When he signed the Homeland Security bill on Monday, President George W. Bush effectively drafted corporate America to serve in the war against terrorism--with Internet service providers among those on the front line. The new law makes it easier for AOL Time Warner, Comcast, Microsoft's MSN unit, United Online and the rest of the nation's 3,000 Internet service providers to volunteer subscriber information to government officials without worrying about customer lawsuits. Under the new law, they can release the contents of customers' communications to law enforcement without a court order and without fear of a suit if they have a "good-faith" belief that an emergency warrants it. Before, they had to have a "reasonable" belief--a higher legal standard--that release was warranted. http://www.forbes.com/2002/11/27/cz_ms_1127beltway.html "When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty " --- Thomas Jefferson