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The Center for Democracy and Technology /____/ Volume 2, Number 10
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A briefing on public policy issues affecting civil liberties online
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CDT POLICY POST Volume 2, Number 10 March 14, 1996
CONTENTS: (1) Deadline to join CIEC challenge to CDA extended!
(2) Subscription Information
(3) About CDT, contacting us
This document may be redistributed freely provided it remains in its entirety
** Excerpts may be re-posted by permission (editor@cdt.org) **
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(1) DEADLINE TO JOIN CIEC CHALLENGE TO CDA EXTENDED!
As of 5:00 pm Thurs. March 14, nearly 25,300 individuals have joined the
Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC) legal challenge to the
Communications Decency Act. This historic legal challenge will determine
both the fate of the Internet and the future of freedom of expression in
the Information Age. To allow more Internet users to participate in this
landmark case, the deadline for individuals to join the Citizens Internet
Empowerment Coalition (CIEC) legal challenge to the Communications Decency
Act has been extended.
Individuals who join the CIEC before March 31, 1996 will be added to the
Coalition documents to be filed in the Federal Court in Philadelphia. The
coalition will remain open after March 31 until just before the case
reaches the Supreme Court (expected late 1996). The goal is to have as
many individual members of the CIEC as possible by the time the case
reaches the Supreme Court (regardless of who wins the first court
challenge, slated to begin on March 21 and last through April 12, either
side can immediately appeal to the Supreme Court).
For more information, including information on how you can join the fight,
visit the CIEC home page at: http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
The 25,300 individual CIEC members, collected in just over 17 days, is a
truly astounding representation of the breadth the net.community's concern
over the impact of the Communications Decency Act. Under the CDA, every
Internet user who posts messages to Usenet Newsgroups, public listervs, IRC
or online chat sessions, or maintains their own World Wide Web page is
potentially subject to $250,000 fines and 2 years in prison if someone
somewhere considers the material "indecent". CIEC members believe that
this law is clearly unconstitutional and threatens the viability of the
Internet as a medium for free expression, education, and commerce.
COURT TO HEAR THE CASE BEGINNING MARCH 21
The CIEC challenge, which has been consolidated with another challenge
mounted by the ACLU, EFF, EPIC, and other plaintiffs, will be argued before
a 3 judge panel in a Philadelphia Federal Court beginning Thursday March
21. The schedule for the hearings are as follows:
March 21, 22 & April 1: CIEC and ACLU lawyers and witnesses
April 11, 12: Dept. of Justice lawyers and witnesses
CDT, with the cooperation of the Justice Department, the clerk of the
Philadelphia Federal Court, and Bell Atlantic, has arranged to wire the
Court Room for Internet access. We are installing a T1 line and a small
local area network with at least 3 computers to enable the court to see the
Internet and view demonstrations of parental control technologies. To the
best of our knowledge, this represents the first time a Federal Court has
been wired to the Internet for the purposes of a trial.
CDT is also working out arrangements to provide real-time updates of the
court proceedings. Please stay tuned for more information, and continue to
visit CDT's home page for more information (URL:http://www.cdt.org)
BACKGROUND ON THE CIEC CHALLENGE
The Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition challenge, which in addition to
the 25,300 individuals includes libraries, online service providers,
newspaper and book publishers, commercial and non-commercial content
providers, and public interest advocates, argues that the Internet is a
unique communications medium. Because of the tremendous user control
inherent in interactive media, and because the Internet provides
essentially unlimited publishing capacity, broad, mass-media content
regulations such as those imposed by the Communications Decency Act are
overly restrictive and therefore unconstitutional.
The CDA is so broad that it encompasses material such as the '7 dirty
words', classic works of fiction such as the Catcher in the Rye or Ulysses,
Sex education and AIDS education materials, artwork, and other
constitutionally protected materials. Although some of this material may
not be appropriate for children, it is protected by the Constitution. Under
the CDA, the very same material which is legal today in newspapers,
magazines, and books would be *illegal* if posted to a public forum on the
Internet. As a result, the CDA threatens to chill the free flow of
information and create second-class status for online speech.
The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that the government may only
regulate constitutionally protected speech if it employs the "least
restrictive means". Because of the availability of strong, effective user
empowerment technologies such as SurfWatch, Cyberpatrol, PICS, etc., the
broad content regulations imposed by the CDA are clearly not the "least
restrictive means" and are therefore unconstitutional.
For more information on the CIEC challenge, including information on how
you can join this historic legal battle:
World Wide Web: http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
email: ciec-info@cdt.org (general information via auto-reply)
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(2) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Be sure you are up to date on the latest public policy issues affecting
civil liberties online and how they will affect you! Subscribe to the CDT
Policy Post news distribution list. CDT Policy Posts, the regular news
publication of the Center For Democracy and Technology, are received by
more than 9,000 Internet users, industry leaders, policy makers and
activists, and have become the leading source for information about
critical free speech and privacy issues affecting the Internet and other
interactive communications media.
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(3) ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY/CONTACTING US
The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest
organization based in Washington, DC. The Center's mission is to develop
and advocate public policies that advance democratic values and
constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications
technologies.
Contacting us:
General information: info@cdt.org
World Wide Web: URL:http://www.cdt.org/
FTP URL:ftp://ftp.cdt.org/pub/cdt/
Snail Mail: The Center for Democracy and Technology
1634 Eye Street NW * Suite 1100 * Washington, DC 20006
(v) +1.202.637.9800 * (f) +1.202.637.0968
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End Policy Post 2.10 3/14/96
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