Dear Net Citizen: How do you put a price on free and open dialogue on the Net? How much are you willing to spend to preserve the concept of roboust and open debate that have become a part of the Internet's culture? $100? $50? $20? What if the cost of helping to preserve an open and robust Net was no more than $1.29? That's right, less than the cost of a fast food hamburger. Freedom on the Internet for only $1.29... cheap at twice the price. A joke? Hardly. The free and open speech, indeed the First Amendment rights of the Internet -- rights we've all enjoyed for decades -- are now being challenged in court. CyberWire Dispatch, the well-respected online newswire written and developed for the Internet community by journalist Brock Meeks, is the subject of a libel suit. CyberWire Dispatch has been at the forefront of bringing the Net community timely and insightful articles. This suit was highlighted in a _Wall St. Journal_ article (April 22, page B1). The subject of a Dispatch investigation is suing Meeks for simply doing what journalists in the traditional print medium have done since the founding of newspapers: Print the facts and let the public decide the outcome. Brock and the Cyperwire Dispatch are examples of the "bottom up" journalism that charachterizes the Net, where anyone with a modem can compete with the traditional press. Of course, most of us don't come to the Net with a lawyer in tow, or the resources to defend a legal action taken against us in courts located hundreds of miles from our homes. This libel action is one of the earliest cases of libel involving alleged defamatory statements published over a computer network. It raises the extremely important legal and policy issues. It's impact may well determine how and to what extent anyone feels free to express strong opinions on the Net, wihtout being put at risk of legal action. It is crucial that Brock have a strong defense and that the principles that come out of this case provide the maximum protection to the exercise of free and open speech as possible. CyberWire Dispatch is unique because it's distributed solely in electronic form. A service for the Net community at large. And all CyberWire Dispatch articles are free. Meeks neither charges anyone for receiving them; he gets paid nothing to write them. For all these efforts, he's being sued. And being sued by a company with a large financial backing. Meeks, on the other hand, has no such resources. His attorney, Bruce Sanford of Baker & Hostetler is arguably the finest First Amendment lawyer in the U.S. And although he has agreed to represent Meeks at a reduced rate, the cost of defending against this unmerited suit will not be cheap. We have formed this committee to lend our support in helping him raise money for his legal defense. And all we're asking you to send is $1.29. That's it. Why that price? The math is easy: $1 in an envelope with a 29 cent stamp applied. Who can't afford $1.29 to help save the great freedoms we all enjoy here today? Can you send more? Of course. Any contributions will be welcomed and accepted. Tax deductible donations also are possible by following the instructions below. All money sent for Meeks' legal defense fund will be go to that purpose. All the administrative services for administering the fund are being donated; 100% of your money goes to defer the legal costs of this case. You are encouraged to repost this message. But please, we urge you to keep proper Net protocol in mind when reposting or cross posting this message. Thanks for your time. On behalf of Brock and for future generations of electronic journalists, we appreciate your contributions and support. Sincerely, Samuel A. Simon President, Issue Dynmics, Inc.* ssimon@idi.net Mitch Kapor Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation* Kapor@eff.org David Farber The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications Systems University of Pennsylvania* farber@central.cis.upenn.edu Philip Elmer-DeWitt Senior Writer TIME Magazine* ped@panix.com Marc Rotenberg Electronic Infomation Privacy Center* epic@cpsr.org Nicholas Johnson Former FCC Commissoner* 103-5393@mcimail.com Jerry Berman Electronic Frontier Foundation* jbeman@eff.org Mike Godwin Electronic Frontier Foundation* mnemonic@eff.org *AFFILIATION IS FOR INDENTIFICATION PURPOSE ONLY For Tax Deductible Donations: Make Checks out to "Point Foundation" and clearly annotate on the check: "For Legal Defense Fund." Send those checks to: Meeks Defense Fund c/o Point Foundation 27 Gate Five Road Sausalito, CA 94965 For those who don't care about the tax deductible status, send contributions to: Meeks Defense Fund c/o IDI 901 15th St. NW Suite 230 Washington, DC 20005 #################################################################### # Meeks Defense Fund | Internet: fund@idi.net # # ---------------------------------------------------------------- # # c/o IDI c/o Point Foundation # # 901 15th St. NW 27 Gate Five Road # # Suite 230 Sausalito, CA 9465 # # Washington, DC 20005 # #################################################################### Dear Net Citizen, The recent Internet posting launching a fund raising drive in order to help Brock Meeks, defray the legal expenses of a lawsuit brought against his newswire, CyberWire Dispatch, has drawn several inquiries for a summary of the issues involved in this case. Although the case was featured in the April 22 (Fri.) issue of the Wall St. Journal (page B1), we recognize that members of the Internet don't always have the time or resources to look up back issues a newspaper. Out of deference to those asking for more information, the following summary of the case is provided. Sometime during February of this year, an electronic solicitation began appearing on the Internet from a company identified only as the "Electronic Postal Service" (EPS). EPS promised to it would pay money to people simply for agreeing to receive "commercial e-mail" through their system. EPS said it wold pay an average of 6.5 cents per commercial e-mail message received. EPS further promised: "There is absolutely no charge, periodic charge, hourly charge or phone charge to receive or review EPS commercial e-mail." "You are provided with a free EPS mailbox and you may access this EPS mailbox through a toll free phone number so there are no phone line charges." In addition, EPS offered "full Internet access including network Internet e-mail remote log-in, file transfer capability and much more." To sign up you were required to call an 800 number or send for information to the EPS Internet account (eps@world.std.com). You had to include your name and address. Brock called and asked for the EPS information. It never came. Instead, he received an unwanted and unsolicited direct mailing from a company called Suarez Corporation Industries. That mailing claimed that for a price of $159, Suarez would send you a book and software that could help you create a "net profit generation system" capable of earning anywhere from $30,000 to $1 million per year. Brock began investigating why he received the Suarez mailing and soon found out that Suarez had obtained his name from the request for EPS information. More investigation found that the EPS account was registered to Suarez Corporation Industries. Brock then looked into the background of this company. During his investigation into the Suarez business, Brock discovered that several state and federal enforcement agencies had brought actions against Suarez as a result of questionable direct mailing practices. Brock's Dispatch article questioned the claims made in the original Internet solicitation of EPS and then reported his findings on enforcement agency actions against the Suarez company. Brock's article clearly reflected his attitude of disapproval for having asked for one piece of information and being sent something he neither wanted or asked for. Suarez objected to the article and has filed a defamation lawsuit claiming Brock made defamatory remarks and sought to disparage his products "and otherwise tortiously (sic) interfere with the plaintiff's ability to develop" EPS. Suarez claims the Dispatch article lost him business and he is seeking punitive damages and demanding an injunction to block Brock from writing anything further about him or his company. All the charges in the suit are completely without merit, Brock says. The April 22 (page B1) issue of the Wall St. Journal, writing about case says: "Suarez's in-house counsel, Steven L. Baden concedes that the Electronic Postal Service isn't yet 'commercially viable' and doesn't yet provide Internet access, despite the ad's claim to the contrary." The lawsuit "is one of the first U.S. libel cases to arise out of the free-for-all on the Internet," the WSJ article says. "If it succeeds, some legal experts say it could spawn other complaints," the WSJ says. You are encouraged to repost this message. But please, we urge you to keep proper Net protocol in mind when reposting or cross posting this message. Thanks for your time. On behalf of Brock and for future generations of electronic journalists, we appreciate your contributions and support. Sincerely, Samuel A. Simon President, Issue Dynmics, Inc.* ssimon@idi.net Mitch Kapor Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation* Kapor@eff.org David Farber The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications Systems University of Pennsylvania* farber@central.cis.upenn.edu Philip Elmer-DeWitt Senior Writer TIME Magazine* ped@panix.com Marc Rotenberg Electronic Infomation Privacy Center* epic@cpsr.org Nicholas Johnson Former FCC Commissoner* 103-5393@mcimail.com Jerry Berman Electronic Frontier Foundation* jbeman@eff.org Mike Godwin Electronic Frontier Foundation* mnemonic@eff.org *AFFILIATION IS FOR INDENTIFICATION PURPOSE ONLY For Tax Deductible Donations: Make Checks out to "Point Foundation" and clearly annotate on the check: "For Legal Defense Fund." Send those checks to: Meeks Defense Fund c/o Point Foundation 27 Gate Five Road Sausalito, CA 94965 For those who don't care about the tax deductible status, send contributions to: Meeks Defense Fund c/o IDI 901 15th St. NW Suite 230 Washington, DC 20005 ------------------ BROCK MEEKS UPDATE! -------------------- Dear Net Citizen: As we continue our effort to promote freedom of expression on the internet, I thought it would be nice to share some good news with you about Brock. I just wish it could be good news about the defamation case that is still pending -- but it isn't. Brock still needs your financial support, because the Suarez Corporation continues its relentless pursuit of Brock in the courts. As many of you know, Brock is a professional journalist during the day, for which he gets paid. At night and on week-ends, he writes for the internet. We have just learned that Brock has won the National Press Club 1994 Newsletter Journalist Award in analytical category for his entry "Cellular Industry Fights Cancer Claims". Brock had been investigating the story for weeks when it broke suddenly during the evening broadcast of CNN's Larry King Live. Judges said Meeks "reported on a story that had already broken nationally, but because (he) had been working on the background, (his) research and contacts put the story into context. It also challenged, in a balanced and even-handed way, some of the assertions and spin being put on the story by the cellular telephone industry." Last year, Brock won "Best Investigative Reporting" from the Newsletter Publishers Foundation. Hopefully, this new information will help those of you who don't know Brock understand the typical quality of his work. The Defense Fund still needs your support. The legal fees continue to mount as litigation continues. At this point, dates for court hearings get set, then are cancelled. Motions are being filed and responded to. Brock's lawyers are, of course, trying to get the case dismissed, while the plaintiff's continue to pursue their case. Attached, once again, is the information about how to contribute to the Fund. WE HOPE YOU CAN HELP OUT SUBSTANTIALLY, $10 TO $100 contributions are urgently needed. Samuel A. Simon for the Defense Fund ssimon@idi.net #################################################################### # Meeks Defense Fund | Internet: fund@idi.net # # ---------------------------------------------------------------- # # c/o IDI c/o Point Foundation # # 901 15th St. NW 27 Gate Five Road # # Suite 230 Sausalito, CA 9465 # # Washington, DC 20005 # ####################################################################