Mining CNET's Porn Subpoenas' FAQ

CNET has graciously authored a FAQ about the Justice Department's sweeping group of porn-related subpoenas issued to search engines. The article is three pages long and there are some decent points made.

One of the best points I've seen is that CNET is no longer saying, "the Bush Administration," and is correctly identifying the issuer of the subpoenas as the Justice Department. (I made that correction pro-actively in the original tag to the news piece yesterday.)

The second point is that this FAQ finally reveals that no user identities have been requested --it's just the search terms. It's like going to a library and asking which books have been checked out in the past week without wanting to know who checked them out. Hopefully, that revelation will quell some of the rampant paranoia that seems to afflict many of the denizens of the Internet.

Why are these things so wonderful to know? Because CNET, at least in the guise of columnist Declan McCullagh, has often used its umbrella of technology to spew some of the most horrifically slanted views about the government's aims and impacts on those of us who live in a digital world. It's pleasing to know that CNET can get it right once in a while.