Info-Vasion

The Information Age is upon us. God save us. Gone is the Jurassic Age, and the Atomic Age. Gone are the days when your fate was determined by physical speed. Now, with the proliferation of advanced technology, informational speed ensures the survival of the fittest.

Who will live, and who will die? Those who can traverse the Information Superhighway the best will be able to pass their dominant genes to those of the next generation. Technology rolls ahead, and those still living in caves will be left behind to write snail mail and watch simple 12 channel public television.

Vice-President Al Gore '69, self proclaimed "information guru," has taken the banner of the new age, promising to lead us all down the information superhighway to more enlightened times. The Clinton Administration has endorsed a proposal to allow companies to form a multimedia conglomeration.

But what price do we pay for these blessed times? First Amendment rights, possibly.

Many e-mail junkies may have heard of the "Clipper chip." The National Security Agency has created Clipper as an encryption device intended to scramble data, such as e- mail, medical files or financial figures.

Yet at the same time, it possesses a backdoor two keys"-held by two separate government agencies-that will allow the government to decode any data with appropriate warrants. Administration officials contend that the government must have free reign to be able to decode any criminal activity or suspected foreign espionage.

The government hopes to lower the price of Clipper technology enough so that any other encoding programs would be relatively too expensive to buy. If this strategy is successful, the government will have effectively gained entry into computer system--without forcing through unconstitutional federal legislation.

Yet policy inherently violates the privacy rights for citizens of the United States. The government will effectively be able to scan through any pirces of data it deems necessary.

And the public outcry can be already heard resonating throughout the nation. An Internet petition voicing opposition to the Clipper chip has already gathered 45,000 signatures. And a normally divisive coalition of the computer industry giants have voiced opposition to the Clinton administration's new plan. Apple, I.B.M., Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Digital Equipment and Unisys are all supporting an encryption standard proposed by RSA Data Security that does not have a "trapdoor" for the government to monitor messages and files.

Yet the government remains deaf. The information Superhighway must go no, bulldozing anything in its path. The NSA believes that national security is the highest priority for any country, and even privacy must be sacrificed for its cause.

But where do we stop? The image of Big Brother appears ominously in our collective minds. A study conducted by CPSR revealed that the government eavesdropped on 1.35 million conversations in 1991 and made 3,00 arrests based upon their findings. With such a track record, the omnipresence of the NSA becomes a serious threat.

We must wonder what prevents our government from arbitrarily dropping into any simple e-mail conversation or personal file in the name of national security? But, of curse, we must not forget the high integrity of secure government agencies. (Like that shown by the Aldrich Ames affair, for example.)

What's really at stake in the Clipper war is actually quite simple: information. In the Atomic Age, everyone wondered who had the atom bomb. In the Information Age, everyone wonders who has the information. Clipper merely represents a battle over who has the information and who can get the information. The Information Superhighway is meant to ease our transition into a great new era by giving us 500 cable channels and amazing new toys like the Powerbook. Society will supposedly be able to do amazing new things and evolve into a higher plane of being.

Already, evidence of the new age is upon us. E-mail, one small example of the power of Internet, has proliferated throughout Harvard. PowerBooks are ubiquitous, from libraries to lectures.

But, while the Clinton administration's plan may contain the near future within it, much of it remains like a dream. The administration projects illusionary visions of a nation wired together.

Are you hearing a lot about universal health coverage? Welcome to the 21st century, when "guaranteed universal access" will be the keywords that win a presidency.

Yet, as people gradually become more accustomed to the idea of the "infoway," the concept is already experiencing a backlash. At Harvard, the location of laptop computers can spur enough controversy to generate two Crimson articles. Many remain defiant in their e-mail virginity.

And finally the Clipper chip has garnered the attention of the full public with coverage in such mainstream media as the New York Times or Time magazine. No longer is the information superhighway an object to be buried in the science section, or relegated to articles in trade magazines like Macweek or PC World.

The new technology is making waves, and creating controversy. As society is made more aware of the new advances made by the industry, it also becomes more aware of the dangers involved. For there is definitely a price to be paid.

Backlash incidents prove that the public is not yet willing to give up the old ways and embrace a new technology with open arms. While the vision of better things to come gives promise, the hype and aura surrounding something "new" should not be glibly swallowed without thought.

Issues such as the Clipper chip show that with all its attributes, the information highway still possesses many drawbacks. Who is willing to give up their privacy for new gadgets? The government has an obligation to retreat on its Clipper stance, while slowing down on its infoway hype blitz.

While politicians try to glaze the public's eyes with exciting promises, it should not be forgotten that new cannot always be equated with better.