In a previous post I mentioned the Protect IP Act as an example of government making things worse instead of better when it tries to censor the Internet. Today I came across an article talking about another very bad effect that the Protect IP Act would have if it were passed: it would break DNSSEC, which is a key security mechanism that lets your computer validate DNS records, so that, for example, when you type your bank's URL into your browser, you know that you're talking to your bank's server, instead of some rogue site that has been set up to impersonate it. Of course, as the article also notes, this will not actually reduce online copyright infringement, since people who really want to infringe can simply bypass any blocking technology that is put in place (for example, if the US were to mandate DNS filtering, people could just use DNS servers that are outside the US). So once again, the law would impose substantial burdens on legitimate uses of the Internet, without making a dent in illegitimate ones. As I noted when I posted about my favorite Heinlein quote (I warned you I'd be referring to it again), whenever you try to fix things by fiat, by controlling people, it always ends up being a net loss.

(By the way, I haven't even gone into the fact that two key organizations that are trying to get the government to pass the Protect IP Act, the RIAA and MPAA, are doing it to prop up their outdated business models, not out of any genuine concern for the people that actually create "intellectual property". If they were really concerned about the actual artists that create the IP they are selling, they wouldn't go to such great lengths to rip them off. But that's a whole other post.)