Anarchy Online: Anarchy Online

Many hackers, lawmakers, corporations and nervous users agree that the World Wide Web is in a state of anarchy. Here, Platt, a science fiction (Protektor) and science writer, divides his eye-opening story of the paranoia and real dangers arising from that anarchy into two camps: Net crime and Net sex. In his effort to include the scope of crimes and what the response to them has been, Platt covers considerable ground, sometimes too much. After being introducing to wealthy satellite video pirates and the secrets of their lucrative industry, most readers will find learning how ""pirates will pirate pirated software from other pirates"" far beyond the scope of curiosity. Similarly, an initially amusing list of pseudonymous screen names censored or accepted by America Online stretches nearly 12 pages long. In spite of Platt's well-supported conviction that actual illegal offenses represent a slight percentage of Web activity, he gives them plenty of room, sometimes in sickening detail. The author is breaking new ground here, though, just as the Net is, and overall this is a provocative, well-researched vision of the actual and imagined terrors of the Web. (Mar.)