Of course, if a proposal floated Thursday by the Business Software Alliance (BSA) finds Congressional friends, it may soon be the Internet Service Providers -- not the MPAA -- issuing cease and desists.

The BSA wants the "safe harbor" clause, which precludes ISPs and phone companies from monitoring what users are doing on their networks, eliminated from the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. The proposal faces a huge uphill battle, since mandating the ISPs monitor Internet traffic would likely also force telephone companies and email providers to monitor what’s said and written across their networks.

Technology Review