AT LUNCHTIME TODAY, I moderated a panel discussion on digital downloading and music, featuring a bunch of musicians, songwriters, and industry people from Nashville. Here’s the scary bit: one of the industry guys said that their big legislative priority is to try to create a regime where you have to register with a unique, verifiable ID to access the Internet.

No doubt the next step would be to take away that ID as punishment for “misconduct” on the Internet. Shades of Vernor Vinge’s True Names.

UPDATE: Declan McCullagh links this post with a reference to the RIAA, and follows up with a post in which the RIAA (humorously) denies it. I should be clear that there was no RIAA representative at this panel; it was an industry guy, but not one from the RIAA.