@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ Date: Sun, 3 Mar 1996 Sender: •••@••.••• (Ann Beeson) Subject: ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update: 3/1/96 ---------------------------------------------------------------- March 1, 1996 ACLU CYBER-LIBERTIES UPDATE A bi-weekly (usually) e-zine on cyber-liberties cases and controversies at the state and federal level. ---------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE: * CDA Litigation Update -- Hearing in _ACLU v. Reno_ Set for Late March * ACTION ALERT: The Big Chill -- Tell Us Your Story of Speech Chilled by the CDA * Magician "Teller" Reaches Janet Reno on the Phone, Tells Her Not to Enforce the CDA! * Law Students Organize a Nationwide "Silent Protest" Day Against the CDA * Washington State Censorship Bill is DEAD AGAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------- FEDERAL PAGE (Congress/Agency/Court Cases) ---------------------------------------------------------------- * CDA Litigation Update -- Hearing in _ACLU v. Reno_ Set for Late March The ACLU's battle for a quick overturn by the courts of the unconstitutional Communications Decency Act is in full force. Thanks to all who continue to inspire and support us during this critical case for free speech in cyberspace! Significant developments and dates in the _ACLU v. Reno_ case are summarized below: 2/8 Clinton signs Telecommunications Bill; ACLU immediately files suit in federal court in Philadelphia on behalf of twenty plaintiffs to challenge the constitutionality of the "indecency" and "patently offensive" provisions of the CDA. Electronic Privacy Information Center and Electronic Frontier Foundation are co-counsel and plaintiffs in the case. The other plaintiffs include a broad coalition of individuals, organizations, and membership associations who represent hundreds of thousands of online users. They include the ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Journalism Education Association, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility, National Writers Union, ClariNet Communications, Institute for Global Communication, Stop Prisoner Rape, AIDS Education Global Information Service, BiblioBytes, Queer Resources Directory, Critical Path AIDS Project, Wildcat Press, Declan McCullagh dba Justice on Campus, Brock Meeks dba CyberWire Dispatch, John Troyer dba The Safer Sex Web Page, Jonathan Wallace dba The Ethical Spectacle, and Planned Parenthood Federation of America. 2/15 Judge Buckwalter, a federal judge in Philadelphia, issues a Temporary Restraining Order against enforcement of the "indecency" provisions of the CDA. He denies a TRO against the "patently offensive" and the abortion speech provisions of the CDA. 2/25 ACLU and Department of Justice (DOJ) file a written stipulation with the Court in which DOJ agrees not to prosecute under either the "patently offensive" or the "indecency" provisions until the Court hears and determines the ACLU's motion for a preliminary injunction. The agreement protects _all_ online users (not just the plaintiffs in the case). 2/25 A second lawsuit is filed in Philadelphia to challenge the CDA. The lawsuit (_American Library Assoc. v. DOJ_) includes an impressive list of plaintiffs, including the American Library Association, American Booksellers Association, America Online, Microsoft, Apple Computer, and Prodigy. Lead counsel in the case is Bruce Ennis, of Jenner and Block in Washington, DC, and formerly Legal Director of the ACLU. 2/27 _ALA v. DOJ_ is formally consolidated with _ACLU v. Reno_. 3/21-3/22 An evidentiary hearing on the preliminary injunction motions will be held before a three-judge court in Philadelphia consisting of Judge Dolores Sloviter (Chief Judge, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals), Judge Stewart Dalzell (Federal District Court, Eastern District of PA), and Judge Ronald Buckwalter (Federal District Court, Eastern District of PA). The Court has reserved the following days, if necessary, for conclusion of the hearing: 4/1, 4/11, and 4/12. **The Court's decision on the preliminary injunction motion can be directly appealed by either side to the Supreme Court.** For complete details on _ACLU v. Reno_, including legal documents, press releases, and information and links for all the plaintiffs, visit the ACLU web page at http://www.aclu.org. ---------------------------------------------------------------- * ACTION ALERT: The Big Chill -- Tell Us Your Story of Speech Chilled by the CDA While the government has agreed not to prosecute under the CDA until the Court determines the constitutional challenge, the Big Chill is already on. Since passage of the Act on 2/8/96, the ACLU has received reports of 17-year-olds being kicked off MUCKs because of "dirty" words, new access requirements and age verifications for newsgroups and mailing lists, and complete shutdown of some sites. Faced with criminal prosecution, there is no doubt that the vagueness of the CDA has led many to trade their free speech rights for safety. One of the crucial elements of our constitutional challenge to the CDA is educating the courts about these disastrous chilling effects. An easy-to-use form on the ACLU home page lets you report specific instances of the Big Chill. Some of these reports will be used as evidence for the hearing in the _ACLU v. Reno_ case -- so be sure to complete all the information and provide thorough details about the incident. (We will also re-package the reports and make them available through the web site.) "The Big Chill" reporting form will be up and running on Tuesday, 3/5, at http://www.aclu.org. Tell us your story, and help us win the court battle for free speech in cyberspace! ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Magician "Teller" Reaches Janet Reno on the Phone, Tells Her Not to Enforce the CDA! In the 2/9/96 issue of the Cyber-Liberties Update, the ACLU urged netizens to call or fax Janet Reno, U.S. Attorney General, and tell her not to prosecute under the newly passed CDA. The alert was also posted on the ACLU web page, which provided a form for instant fax -- activists used the form to fax thousands of letters to Reno, and countless others placed calls to Reno. At least one online activist received an extra special award for participating in democracy -- JANET RENO ANSWERED THE PHONE WHEN HE CALLED! The netizen was none other than Teller, of the famous Penn and Teller magic act. On Valentine's Day, spurred by the ACLU action alert, Teller picked up the phone to call Reno's office. After giving an earnest plea against online censorship to an unidentified person on the other end of the line at the Department of Justice, he asked to whom he was speaking. "Janet Reno," came the reply. Surprised and somewhat speechless, Teller said he was sorry, that he didn't know the number was some sort of "inside line." "No need to apologize," said Janet kindly. Teller sent a follow-up letter to Reno, which is reprinted below. Like all the other wonderful letters against the CDA sent by citizens to government officials over the past year, it is a moving testament for free speech. We only hope that if enough folks actually "get through" to Janet, she'll begin to understand why she should never use this draconian law against the online world. ------------ TO: ATTORNEY GENERAL JANET RENO FROM: TELLER Dear Attorney General Reno, I spoke with you this afternoon briefly and not very articulately. It was quite startling to find you in and I'm not great at thinking on my feet. Please, please, I urge you not to stand behind the "decency" provisions of the telecom act. They limit our freedom of speech. That freedom protects us from tyranny. That freedom is a lot more important than keeping kids from visiting Adults Only web sites. Internet providers are now starting to offer services that suit families who wish to limit the kids' browsing. Sure, some kids will still sneak into areas they shouldn't. But I'd much rather have your expertise and energy directed against the guys who rape, kill, and steal; not waste it on mischievous kids reading and writing and looking at pictures. Jefferson would not be pleased to hear you ask our nation to limit our communications to topics suitable for children. He would understand that the Internet is a huge library created by adults for their use. Children have found their way in. If we prefer kids not to see grownup books, let us engineer ways to keep them out. But let us not burn down the library or make it a criminal act to stock anything stronger than Dr. Seuss. "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety," wrote Benjamin Franklin in 1759. Even if censoring the Internet would actually reduce crime (and you are experienced enough to know in your heart it wouldn't), to do so would betray the men and women who have died for our freedom. Please think about it. You are important. Don't let us down. Respectfully, TELLER ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Law Students Organize a Nationwide "Silent Protest" Day Against the CDA Concerned over the facially unconstitutional provisions of the recently enacted CDA, students from more than a dozen of the nation's leading law schools have organized to protest the legislation. This is the first nationally organized protest in US Law Schools since the Vietnam War. On March 14th, students at law schools nationwide will distribute blue ribbons, and pledge to remain silent from the hours of 10:05 am to 2:05 pm to bring home the effects of censorship. Students at several schools will augment the "silent protest" with discussion groups and teach-ins. More than a dozen of the nation's leading law schools are represented in the protest, including New York University, Harvard, Columbia, University of Washington, Michigan, Penn, William & Mary, Fordham, Boston University, Florida State University and others. The movement was created by a group of students at New York University, which is serving as a national steering committee for the protest. For complete information on the Law Student protest, see the "Law Student Protest" files in the Cyber-Liberties section of the ACLU web site, at http://www.aclu.org. Or contact Charles Glasser, at •••@••.•••. ---------------------------------------------------------------- STATE PAGE (Legislation/Agency/Court Cases) ---------------------------------------------------------------- * Washington State Censorship Bill is DEAD AGAIN A rare bit of good news on cyber-liberties: House Bill 2267, the Washington state legislature's latest attempt to ban a vast range of artistic, educational, scientific, and other expression as "harmful to minors," met an early death in the House Rules Committee. The ACLU and other civil liberties groups were successful in stopping through a gubernatorial vote last year's attempt, Senate Bill 5466, after it made it all the way to his desk. ---------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION ABOUT THE ACLU ---------------------------------------------------------------- ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update Editor: Ann Beeson (•••@••.•••) American Civil Liberties Union National Office 132 West 43rd Street New York, New York 10036 To subscribe to the ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update, send a message to •••@••.••• with "subscribe Cyber-Liberties" in the body of the message. To terminate your subscription, send a message to •••@••.••• with "unsubscribe Cyber-Liberties" in the body of the message. For general information about the ACLU, write to •••@••.•••. For more information about civil liberties, visit the ACLU Freedom Network at http://www.aclu.org, or the ACLU Constitutional Hall on America Online at keyword ACLU. ---------------------------------------------------------------- @@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~--~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~ Posted by Richard K. Moore - •••@••.••• - Wexford, Ireland Cyber-Rights: http://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/ ftp://www.cpsr.org/cpsr/nii/cyber-rights/library/ CyberJournal: (WWW or FTP) --> ftp://ftp.iol.ie/users/rkmoore Materials may be reposted in their _entirety_ for non-commercial use. ~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~--~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=~
