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Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Trial Update No. 14
Decision Update -- June 12 1996 1:00 pm EDT
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http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
ciec-info@cdt.org
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CIEC UPDATES intended for members of the Citizens Internet Empowerment
Coalition. CIEC Updates are written and edited by the Center for
Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org). This document may be
reposted as long as it remains in total. This document is best viewed
in COURIER font.
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** 45,000 Netizens Vs. U.S. Department of Justice. **
* The Fight To Save Free Speech Online *
IN THIS ISSUE:
o COURT GRANTS INJUNCTION ON CDA! Unanimous Decision is a Major
Victory for Free Speech on the Internet!
o Join CIEC organizers and lead attorney LIVE online TOMORROW (6/13)
at 5:30pm EDT
o Text of CIEC Press Release regarding the Court Ruling
o How To Remove Yourself from this list
o More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology
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(1) COURT GRANTS INJUNCTION ON CDA; UNANIMOUS DECISION IS A MAJOR VICTORY
FOR FREE SPEECH ON THE INTERNET!
At 9:00 am this morning (6/12), a three-judge panel of federal judges
in Philadelphia, PA granted CIEC's request for a preliminary injunction
against the Communications Decency Act (CDA). In a unanimous decision,
the judges ruled that the CDA would unconstitutionally restrict speech on
the Internet.
This is a major victory for Netizens! The ruling today soundly rejects
Congressional attempts to censor the Internet. However, the government
will most certainly appeal this case to the Supreme Court, so the battle
against the CDA is not over yet. All Internet users are encouraged to
join the fight against the CDA as the case moves to the Supreme Court.
Excerpts from the decision:
"As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the
Internet deserves the highest protection from government intrusion."
"Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of
our liberty depends upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered
speech the First Amendment protects."
The full text of the decision, including a compressed downloadable version,
as well as information on how to join the CIEC, is available at the CIEC web
page:
http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
More information about the decision, including analysis of the 175-page
opinion, will be posted over the next few days.
***************** SPECIAL EVENT! *****************
JOIN CIEC ORGANIZERS AND LEAD ATTORNEY LIVE ONLINE
TOMORROW (6/13) TO DISCUSS THE OUTCOME OF THE CASE
Tomorrow at 5:30pm EDT, HotWired will host a live online briefing with
Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC) organizers and the lead
CIEC attorney who argued the case before the federal judges in
Philadelphia. They will discuss the implications of the court's ruling,
the next steps in the legal battle, and answer questions from netizens.
Scheduled to participate in the online briefing:
o Bruce Ennis, attorney with Jenner & Block and CIEC's lead counsel;
o Jerry Berman, CDT executive director;
o William Burrington, assistant general counsel for America Online; and
o Judith Krug, director of the Office For Intellectual Freedom, American
Library Association
Don't miss this chance to interact with the CIEC leaders as they discuss
this important victory and what it means to the future of the Internet!
DETAILS ON THE EVENT
WHERE: HotWired's WiredSide Chat (http://www.hotwired.com/wiredside/)
WHEN: Thursday June 13
5:30 pm EDT (2:30 PDT)
TO PARTICIPATE: Visit http://www.hotwired.com/wiredside/ for
instructions.
You will need to be a member of HotWired (membership is
FREE - visit http://www.hotwired.com/ for details), and
a copy of RealAudio installed on your computer (visit
http://www.realaudio.com/ for a FREE copy of Real
Audio).
HotWired's wiredside chat is an innovative new way to hold online events.
It combines a live audio broadcast with an interactive chat forum, allowing
users to pose questions to the guest and talk about the session.
Transcripts of the session will be available at the CIEC web page. This
special event is co-sponsored by the Netizen and the Center for Democracy
and Technology (CDT).
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(2) TEXT OF THE CIEC PRESS RELEASE REGARDING THE COURT RULING
CITIZENS INTERNET EMPOWERMENT COALITION
1634 EYE STREET, N.W.
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20006
202/637-9800
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For further information, contact:
June 12, 1996 Sydney Rubin, 202/828-8829
DECISION IN INTERNET CHALLENGE HAILED AS VICTORY FOR PARENTS, CHILDREN
AND AMERICAN TRADITION OF FREE SPEECH
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Parents, librarians, online companies,
publishers, newspaper reporters and others challenging government
censorship of cyberspace today hailed an historic decision by a
federal court enjoining the government from enforcing portions of a
new law which violate constitutionally protected free speech.
But plaintiffs in the American Library Association v. U.S. Department
of Justice suit warned that the battle against the Communications
Decency Act may not be over if the government appeals today's decision
to the Supreme Court.
"This is a victory for the Internet and for everyone who values free
speech," said Jerry Berman of the Center for Democracy and Technology
and a co-founder of the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition that
organized the suit.
In their 175-page decision, the three judge panel of the U.S. District
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvnia found the law
unconstitutional on grounds that it violated rights of free speech. All
three judges -- Dolores K. Sloviter, chief judge of the U.S. Third
Circuit Court of Appeals, and U.S. District Judges Ronald L. Buckwalter
and Stewart Dalzell wrote individual opinions supporting the panel's
unanimous decision to enforce an injunction against the government.
"Our findings of fact -- many of them undisputed -- express our
understanding of the Internet. These Findings lead to the conclusion
that Congress may not regulate indecency on the Internet at all," wrote
Judge Dalzell, referring to the extensive study of the Internet.
The Judges concluded: the "plaintiffs have shown irreparable injury, no
party has any interest in the enforcement of an unconstitutional law, and
therefore the public interest will be served by granting a preliminary
injunction."
The 27 plaintiffs in the case, which was joined by the court with another
suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, complained that the law
imposed criminal penalities on speech in cyberspace that is otherwise
entirely lawful. It was the first time in American history that criminal
penalities had been placed on the exercise of free speech.
The result of the unconstitutional law was that books legal on library
shelves could land a librarian in jail if posted on-line. The terms used
in the law were so vague that they encompassed vast amounts of material
with literary, artistic, political, cultural and medical value, and
threatened to penalize people who did not realize they were violating a law.
The law was not aimed at curbing obscenity or child pornography on the
Internet, which already are against the law.
"We are ecstatic. Librarians can continue to provide ideas and information
to the public regardless of the format, without concern about fines or jail
terms," said Judith Krug from the American Library Association. "This is
victory for anyone who uses the public libraries."
In addition, the law would fail in its goal of protecting children since
large amounts of material on the Internet originate overseas, beyond the
reach of U.S. law.
During five days of hearings, plaintiffs showed the court the unique nature
of the new medium and demonstrated software that allows parents to easily
monitor and control the material coming into homes and schools. Plaintiffs
argued that such technology was more effective than any law, empowered users
to make their own judgements about what they wanted to see and protected
Americans' First Amendment rights to free expression.
"The court today did for children and adults what Congress did not -- It
decided that parental control tools combined with user education and
enforcement of existing laws is a more effective and constitutional way to
protect children and safeguard our freedoms," said Bill Burrington, Assistant
General Counsel of America Online.
Other countries were watching the outcome of the case closely. Many nations,
such as Germany, France and Japan, are just beginning to grapple with
Internet issues. Other nations, such as China and Saudi Arabia, already have
imposed strict controls on the medium, which Judge Dalzell referred to during
the hearings as "the most democratic medium yet devised by the imagination of
man."
"This court is the first to fully grapple with and grasp the unique nature
and potential of the Internet. The court's decision today to afford
communications over the Internet heightened protections recognizes the value
of this new medium in a democracy," said Bruce J. Ennis, lead attorney in the
case. "This decision will help define the legal framework for future decision
related to the Internet."
The plaintiffs in the case include: American Library Association, Inc.;
America Online, Inc.; American Booksellers Association, Inc.; American
Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; American Society of Newspaper
Editors; Apple Computer, Inc.; Association of American Publishers, Inc.;
Association of Publishers, Editors and Writers; Commercial Internet eXchange
Association; CompuServe Incorporated; Families Against Internet Censorship;
Freedom to Read Foundation, Inc.; Health Sciences Libraries Consortium;
HotWired Ventures LLC; Interactive Digital Software Association; Interactive
Services Association; Magazine Publishers of America, Inc.; Microsoft
Corporation; Microsoft Network; National Press Photographers Association;
NETCOM On-Line Communication Services, Inc.; Newspaper Association of America;
Opnet, Inc.; Prodigy Services Company; Wired Ventures, Ltd.; the Society of
Professional Journalists; and the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition,
representing more than 40,000 individual Internet users.
# # # #
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(3) How to Remove Yourself From This List
As CIEC members, you have been invited to join this list in order to
receive news updates and other information relevant to the CIEC challenge
to the Communications Decency Act. To subscribe, visit
http://www.cdt.org/ciec and join the Coalition.
If you ever want to remove yourself from this list, send email to
ciec-members-request@cdt.org
with 'unsubscribe ciec-members' in the SUBJECT LINE (w/o the 'quotes').
Leave the body of your message blank.
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(4) For More Information
For more information on the CIEC challenge, including the text of the
complaint and other relevant materials:
* World Wide Web -- http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
* General Information about CIEC -- ciec-info@cdt.org
* Copy of the Complaint -- ciec-docs@cdt.org
* Specific Questions Regarding the
Coalition, including Press Inquiries -- ciec@cdt.org
* General information about the
Center for Democracy and Technology -- info@cdt.org
--
end ciec-update.14
6/12/96
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