UN group looks at curbing net anonymity

Reports from CNet and PC World that the UN's International Telecommunication Union is quietly drafting technical standards, proposed by the Chinese government, to define methods of tracing the original source of Internet communications and potentially curbing the ability of users to remain anonymous. The agency is hosting a telecommunications standards meeting in Geneva next week, and one item for discussion is how to find ways to limit virus attacks and spam by making it harder to "spoof" the origin of electronic communications - but civil rights advocates worry it could put an end to anonymity on the Internet. Steven Bellovin, a computer science professor at Columbia University blogs about his concern that a political agenda will shape the internet.