Anyone see this? A bit amusing but not surprising!
John
Arizona lawmaker seeks to ban Pentium
III
By Michael Kanellos
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
January 26, 1999, 3:30 p.m. PT
An Arizona state legislator next week will introduce a bill that seeks to ban the
sale or manufacture of Pentium III processors in the state because of complaints
that a security feature in the chips could threaten personal privacy.
The chips "can't be sold at all" under the proposed bill, said State Rep. Steve May, a
Republican who will introduce the bill next week. "We want Intel to wake up and recognize
that it needs to be careful with privacy issues."
The bill would ban chips using a serial number identification scheme, as well as computers
containing chips with serial numbers. State and government agencies would also be
prevented from buying computers or processors containing the serial numbers.
Manufacturing chips with serial numbers would also be illegal, which could have a
significant impact on Intel operations in Arizona. The company has two fabrication plants
in the state. Intel CEO Craig Barrett also maintains a home there.
"I have a couple of Intel executives in my district," May said, laughing.
Even if passed, however, the bill could face a number of legal challenges, including a
challenge that it violates the commerce clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The security plan, announced last week, has ignited a firestorm of controversy and pitted
Intel against a number of organizations who say the plan will give Intel, or other
companies, the power to track people on the Web. The Pentium III will come with a serial
number that identifies the specific PC a given person is using. Intel has maintained that
the scheme will guard against fraud and make e-commerce more secure. To impersonate
a user or break into a person's electronic bank account, for instance, thieves will have to
steal the exact computer to gain admission, the company says.
Privacy advocates have said that the plan will take away another layer of anonymity on the
Web and make it easier to track their browsing habits. Several groups yesterday proposed
a boycott of Intel if the company goes ahead with the plan.
After the boycott was announced, Intel backed down a bit. Under the original plan,
software that would permit the serial number to be accessed by a Web server would be
turned on, unless turned off by a user. Now, users will have to deliberately turn on the
software.
While May believes the company is making an attempt to lessen any negative effects of
the announcement, he said that there are going to be drastic, unforeseen consequences.
"It is nice that Intel has come to its senses, but what happens two years from now?" he
asked. "We have to be very careful."
Intel had no comment today and executives were unfamiliar with the proposed law. "We
will look into it," a spokesman said.
The bill is being drafted for submission on Monday or Tuesday
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