The article is in the form of a sort of sci-fi story, and is only one of several articles (I think) that were published by the ACM. I’m not the biggest fan of Stallman (he’s far too big a hippie for my tastes), but I think the article’s use of extremes illustrates some excellent points about the tendency of government to get all up in our electronic business. Anyway, I enjoyed it. At first glance, it seems very outlandish, but when you think about it and read the author’s notes, it becomes clear that the sad future isn’t far away.