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IP: CDA Battle Moves to Supreme Court!
From: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Fri, 01 Nov 1996 10:19:37 -0500
----------------------------------------------------------------- _______ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ |__ __| (_) | | | _ \ | | | | | (_) | |_ __ _ __ _| | | |_) |_ _| | | ___| |_ _ _ __ | | '__| |/ _` | | | _ <| | | | | |/ _ \ __| | '_ \ | | | | | (_| | | | |_) | |_| | | | __/ |_| | | | | |_|_| |_|\__,_|_| |____/ \__,_|_|_|\___|\__|_|_| |_| Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Update No. 15 October 31, 1996 ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.cdt.org/ciec/ ciec-info () cdt org ----------------------------------------------------------------- CIEC UPDATES are 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 its entirety. ------------------------------------------------------------------ ** 55,000 Netizens Vs. U.S. Department of Justice. ** * The Fight To Save Free Speech Online * Contents: o Battle For Free Speech in Cyberspace Moves to Supreme Court o What You Can Do - Join the CIEC! o How to Remove Yourself From This List o More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- BATTLE FOR FREE SPEECH IN CYBERSPACE MOVES TO SUPREME COURT -- CIEC Files Documents in Supreme Court Appeal The Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC) today filed papers with the Supreme Court in the landmark legal challenge to the Communications Decency Act, formally beginning the next phase in the battle over the future of the First Amendment in Cyberspace. Today's papers were filed response to the government's jurisdictional statement submitted in late September, and represents the first indication of the substantive arguments in the appeal stage of the case. Curiously, in its jurisdictional statement, the Department of Justice has attempted to raise new issues not addressed by the lower court ruling. Such a move by the government to introduce new arguments at the appeal stage is highly unusual, and illustrates that the government intends vigorously defend the Internet censorship law. The Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC) is a broad coalition of over 50 groups representing the entire breadth of the Internet community, from online service and Internet service providers, libraries, publishers, software companies, public interest organizations, and nearly 55,000 individual Internet users. The CIEC legal challenge to the Communications Decency Act, formally known as ALA v. DOJ, was consolidated with a separate challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and 20 other plaintiffs (ACLU vs. Reno). The cases were argued together in Philadelphia, and the legal teams remain in close coordination. The Communications Decency Act (CDA), passed by Congress as part of the telecommunications reform bill in February 1996, would have imposed huge fines and prison terms on anyone who sends or displays "indecent" or "patently offensive" material in a public forum on the Internet. The CIEC and ACLU challenged the law, and in June of 1996 a special three judge panel in Philadelphia ruled the CDA unconstitutional. The papers filed today were filed in response to the government's jurisdictional statement filed on September 29 asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Philadelphia decision. In an unusual move for an appeal, the Government has also asked the Supreme Court to consider new arguments not made during the lower court hearings, including a contention that the CDA should be construed to cover only those who provide so-called "commercial pornography". In essence, the government is asking the Supreme Court to re-write the law -- something that the Court has been reluctant to do in previous cases. Although plaintiffs in Supreme Court appeals traditionally ask the Court to simply affirm the lower court ruling without a hearing, the CIEC recognizes that the challenge to the CDA is a case of first impression on the application of the First Amendment in cyberspace, and fully expects that the Court will consider the case. As such, the CIEC has asked the court to hear the appeal and to carefully consider the detailed factual record created in the Philadelphia case, including: * The Internet is a unique communications medium which deserves first amendment protections AT LEAST as broad as those enjoyed by the print medium. * When it comes to otherwise constitutionally protected speech, individual users -- not the federal government -- are the best and most appropriate judges of what material is and is not appropriate for themselves and for their children. * User control technologies such as SurfWatch, CyberPatrol, and PICS are the only effective and constitutional method of limiting minors access to objectionable material on the Internet. (the full text of the CIEC brief, the Philadelphia ruling, and other relevant background information on the case is available on the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Web Page. http://www.cdt.org/ciec/) WHAT YOU CAN DO -- JOIN THE CITIZENS INTERNET EMPOWERMENT COALITION If you use the Internet to send email, post to usenet newsgroups, maintain your own world wide web page, or participate in online discussion forums, you could face serious prison time and huge fines under the CDA if someone, somewhere, considers the material you put online to be "indecent" or "patently offensive". Since February of 1996, nearly 55,000 individual Internet Users have joined the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition. The large number of individual Internet users is intended to illustrate to the Court, the press, and the public that each and every Internet user is a publisher and cold be liable under the CDA. If you haven't done so already, please take a moment to become a part of this landmark case: Visit the CIEC web site for details -- http://www.cdt.org/ciec/ It's fast, it's free, and it will help us preserve the future of the Internet as a viable means of free expression, education, and commerce. CITIZENS INTERNET EMPOWERMENT COALITION MEMBERSHIP: The 27 plaintiffs in the case include: American Library Association, Inc.; American 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; Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition; Commercial Internet eXchange; 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.; and, the Society of Professional Journalists Ltd.
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