Civil liberties fears

After contacting Kenn by e-mail about his laptop being scanned at the airport, he had this reaction:

"I'm not sure what's worse: that the scan is so silly, or that it's so dangerous for our democratic institutions. This really flies in the face of some basic principles of Western society. It's very scary to realize that our principles are so fragile and can be mistreated so easily.

"Scanning one's computer disc using clean porn software- which in a digital age comes close to one's private thoughts - has immense social and political consequences. It's remarkable a policy like that could be instituted without a proper public policy debate. It's really about what type of society we want to live in: Do our governments respect their responsibility as stewards of an open society?

"They can answer that in the negative if they like - but then we're repudiating the values of the Enlightenment, let's be at least clear on that. We can't lose sight of that. The debate over Internet content forces us to consider our values of privacy, free speech and the sanctity of the individual. Wouldn't it be a pity if those hard-won values were shaken by a short-sighted customs guard with a porn eraser....

"For me, the most remarkable thing has been the huge amount of e-mail I received after just a couple of hours from when the message was posted on the Internet. The story seems to have really touched a nerve with people. The messages, from all around the world, have been supportive and grateful that I spoke out.

" It's an odd feeling for me - I'm just an ordinary guy who travelled across a border."