Date: Wed, 7 Dec 94 15:13:45 EST From: djones@insight.dcss.McMaster.CA (David Jones) To: efc-announce@insight.dcss.McMaster.CA Subject: EFC says Proposed Ban on some topics of communication is too broad ELECTRONIC FRONTIER CANADA --- PRESS RELEASE (For immediate release --- December 7, 1994) PROPOSED BAN TOO BROAD -- FROM KILLER CARDS TO COMPUTER GAMES Draft legislation that would ban "killer cards" is back from the Justice Committee with recommendations that it be broadened to cover a much wider range of communication. This has many defenders of free speech alarmed. In a report recently presented to Parliament, the Justice Committee recommends changes to the legal definition of "obscenity" to include "undue exploitation or glorification of horror, cruelty, or violence". In addition to cards and games, the report names "music, videos, comics, posters, and computer bulletin boards" as forms of communication that need to be controlled by the government. Communication that falls within this expanded definition and has "no redeeming cultural or social value" would be prohibited. "They apparently stopped short of advocating book-burning", grumbles David Jones, a professor of Computer Science at McMaster University, who is not happy with the report. "When they start talking about banning computer games and communication on computer bulletin boards, that's where they've crossed over into our domain" says Jones, speaking for Electronic Frontier Canada (EFC), a group dedicated to protecting rights and freedoms in cyberspace. "New forms of communication and recreation made possible by new technologies are no less worthy of Charter protection than the more traditional media", says Jeff Shallit, another EFC member, who says he's "been frustrated by the off-again, on-again censorship of electronic communications at the University of Waterloo", where he is a professor of Computer Science. Asked about the general issue behind the new "killer card" legislation, John Bryden, Liberal MP for Hamilton, said "I think they're in a real minefield. It is very very difficult to draft legislation to control that type of material that doesn't seriously infringe on freedom of expression. Nobody likes to see killer cards, as they call them, but these very same legislators probably aren't aware of the fact for years down in Niagara Falls there's been a crime museum. You pay your two bucks and you go in there and you see Jack the Ripper, and so on." Partly because of his background as a writer, Bryden said he was sensitive to issues involving government control of communication. "It's not practical in terms of what you're going to lose versus what you might gain", said Bryden. In what some say is an acknowledgement that the proposed legislation is far too broad in its scope and open to abuse, the Committee recommends certain "safeguards" so that prosecutions would not be "frivolous" and would not be used to "harass or intimidate". Even though the proposed ban would apply only to communication that has "no redeeming social value", critics are still concerned. "There is a real social value merely in being able express one's views", says Jones. "It's an important part of the democratic process." Despite all the hand-wringing concern over the "social evil" represented by these controversial cards and games, the Justice Committee acknowledges that actual instances of the objectionable material are very rare. In fact, the Justice Committee had to actively import a foreign board game into Canada because no objectionable ones were available in this country. Several MP's have stated openly that they wonder how such a peripheral issue was able to keep the Justice Committee busy for months, and that they believe the Justice Committee "should concentrate on real violence rather than conjectural violence." -- 30 -- Contact Information: -------------------- Electronic Frontier Canada Dr. David Jones phone: (905) 525-9140 x24689 fax: (905) 546-9995 email: djones@insight.mcmaster.ca Dr. Jeff Shallit phone: (519) 888-4804 fax: (519) 885-1208 email: shallit@graceland.uwaterloo.ca Dr. Richard Rosenberg phone: (604) 822-4142 fax: (604) 822-5485 email: rosen@cs.ubc.ca Electronic Frontier Canada, online archives: Gopher: gopher://gopher.ee.mcgill.ca/11/community/efc World-Wide-Web: http://www.ee.mcgill.ca/efc/efc.html Anonymous FTP: ftp://insight.mcmaster.ca/pub/efc -- John Bryden, Liberal MP for Hamilton-Wentworth phone: (905) 627-3934 phone: (613) 995-8042 fax: (613) 996-1289 -- Allan Rock Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada (613) 992-4621 -- Ministerial Office (613) 947-5000 -- Parl. Hill Office (613) 990-7255 -- Ministerial Office Fax -- Jennifer Clarke Wilkes Director for Canadian Association for Role-Playing Games (also opposes the draft legislation) email: ae062@freenet.carleton.ca phone: (613) 741-2629 fax: (613) 745-5569 -- Bloc Quebecois MPs who wrote dissenting opinion to Justice Committee recommendations Pierrette Venne, MP for St-Hubert Pierre de Savoye, MP for Portneuf Francois Langlois, MP for Bellechasse -- Warren Allmand, MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grace Author of the controversial Justice Committee Report. ---------------------------- Documents available on-line: The following documents are available in electronic form to anyone with an Internet connection. 1. Proposed amendments to Criminal Code and Customs Tariff (re: killer cards) 2. Comments by Jennifer Clarke Wilkes made during Justice Committee hearings. 3. The full report of the Justice Committe (16nov94) 4. The Dissenting Opinion (Appendix A of the report) These can be accessed in two ways: Gopher: gopher -p "1/community/efc/events/killer-cards" ee.mcgill.ca Anonymous FTP: ftp insight.mcmaster.ca, look in /pub/efc/events/killer-cards