EFFector Online Volume 08 No. 22


Dec 12, 1995
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation
editors@eff.org
ISSN 1062-9424

[*] Top level of EFF WWW Server
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EFF Alerts

In This Issue:

  • See http://www.eff.org/Alerts/ or ftp.eff.org, /pub/Alerts/ for more information on current EFF activities and online activism alerts!

    -> If you are organizing a rally in your area, please let us know.
    -> We'll keep the alerts page updated. - mech@eff.org

    Subject: Two More Days of National Protest! + Update on Progress

  • There was NO vote on this issue today by the Senate side of the joint conference committee, it has not passed yet. This gives us at least another day of action!

  • DON'T STOP NOW! See http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/s652_hr1555.alert for what steps you can take to protect free speech online. It's easy, and it's important!

    Since the online activism efforts are still gaining rather than losing any steam, consider Dec. 13 and 14 the 2nd and 3rd Days of National Protest against the Internet censorship legislation. Keep the web sites up, organize more rallys! Tell your offline friends why this is so important and get them to call and write their Congresspersons.

  • The number of people sending notes to the Internet Protest tally address, indicating that they have contacted one or more legislators on the Internet censorship topic, reached at least 14,000 today alone! (That was about 6 hours before this writing, so the likely total for today is closer to 20,000+.) This only counts those people who bothered to let the tallying address know they had written or called legislators. The real total is probably between 50,000 to 100,000 or more, and considering that many if not most respondents contacted more than one legislator, and that many who called also faxed and emailed, this could represent several hundred thousand instances of online citizens contacting legisators on this issue. Even if the numbers are lower that these very rough guestimates, this is clearly the largest and fastest moving online activism effort to date. KEEP IT UP! WE CAN WIN THIS!

  • Texas Criminal Court Judge Stephen Russell has vowed to team up with online newspaper The American Reporter, Internet access provider Newshare, and attorney Randall Boe of Arent, Fox, Kintner, Plotkin & Kahn, to publish online an "indecent" article in defiance of the CDA if it or similar legislation passes, and defend that publication in court. (from press release, full text at http://www.newshare.com/News/parent2.html) EFF, ACLU and the National Writers Union have also committed to fighting this legislation in court if necessary.

  • Sen. Ted Stevens has apparently changed his fax number since the most recent Senate contact info list we had, and as a result faxes to him at the old number did not reach him, but instead reached the Senate Education Subcommittee, who were deluged in faxes. They seem to have given up trying to gather them and deliver them to Sen. Stevens. If you want your voice to count, please resend your faxes, to the new number: +1 202 224 2354. We have heard from numerous people that conference committee Congresspersons fax machines have been kept so busy all day that Congressional offices are going through stacks of paper packages trying to keep up, and that staffers have been so inundated with calls against Internet censorship legislation that they sometimes don't even let callers finish, but interupt: "You're calling to oppose Internet censorship, right?", and have to take another call. This is a very good sign. The issue is very much on their maps now, and they know that people are watching this issue very closely. It will take at least this to break the Christian Coalition's chokehold on the conference committee's reins. KEEP CALLING!

  • Stardot Consulting, the company that provides the free look-up-your-legislators service referred to in the "What YOU Can Do" section of EFFector, is strongly opposed to and actively engaged in the battle against the Communications Decency Act, and set up a WWW telegram gateway for the first 100 people who used the new page (http://www.stardot.com/protest). That didn't take very long at all. After that first 100, responses are being batched and will be delivered to legislators en masse, so give it a go after you call and fax.

  • Sen. Feinstein's staffer told a caller that the legislative language being considered by the conference committee would strictly limit the online distribution of information about abortion. It would also restrict the King James Bible (which contains at least one "indecency") and a lot of other material, including classic novels most of us read in high school as required reading (e.g. Catcher in the Rye), and the poetry of Allen Ginsberg. Interesting points to make in your faxes and calls to Congress.

  • More and more online publishers, businesses and individuals are putting anti-censorship info and alerts on their sites. Keep at it! Ask your ISP to put a pointer to more info on the National Days of Internet Protest in their WWW welcome pages, in their login messages, and anywhere else people may see it. Get your friends to put the alerts up on their home pages!

    Return to the Table of Contents


    ALERT: NYC Anti-Censorship Rally/Press Conference, Thu. 2-3pm EST

    Come good news or bad, Shabbir Safdar <shabbir@vtw.org> of VTW and Ann Beeson < beeson@aclu.org> of the ACLU will be running a press conference regarding the outcome of Internet censorship legislation. It will be held at the CyberCafe in New York's East Village, from 2-3pm EST, Thursday, Dec. 14.

    Details and a complete announcement will be issued soon. Check the VTW pages on Wed. If you would like to participate (as opposed to just attend) please write to vtw@vtw.org and we will allocate your 1.5 minutes of fame (you'll have 13.5 minutes remaining for future events).

    Basically, this event ends just as the SF and Seattle rallies begin.

    Contact:

  • Steven Cherry <stc@vtw.org> - Shabbir Safdar (shabbir@panix.com)
  • Voters Telecomm Watch <vtw@vtw.org>
  • gopher -p 1/vtw gopher.panix.com
  • WWW: http://www.vtw.org/

    Return to the Table of Contents


    ALERT: SF Anti-Censorship Rally, Rain or Shine! Thu. noon PST

    This is an updated announcement for Thursday's Rally Against Censorship, with the current list of speakers. The rally will take place rain or shine, so hope for the best, bring an umbrella, and spread the word. Thanks!

    *** NETIZENS!! RALLY AGAINST CENSORSHIP ***

    Thursday, December 14, 1995
    at South Park, 12:00 noon - 1:00 PM
    San Francisco, California

    -- Rain or Shine! --

    **PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST **

    Amendment I: "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble."

    **PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST ** PROTEST **

    It's like illiterates telling you what to read. On December 6 members of the House Conference Committee on Telecommunications Reform approved a proposal to censor free speech in cyberspace. If the measures are adopted, the Net and online media will become the most heavily regulated media in the United States. They will not enjoy the First Amendment freedoms now afforded to print media. Instead, online publishers and users will be held to a vague and patently un-Constitutional "indecency" standard. "Violators" will be subject to fines of up to $100,000 and prison terms of up to five years.

    In response, ALL members of the Bay Area media, online, Internet, new media, and telecommunications communities are invited to participate in a protest rally to express our outrage that the politicians in Congress (which is not even connected to the Internet!) are attempting to destroy our First Amendment rights in cyberspace, and directly attack our livelihoods.

    Help stop the demagogues in Washington! There is nothing "decent" about denying free speech to us, our children, and our children's children. Preserve our Constitutional rights! Join us!

    WHEN: Thursday, December 14, 1995 12:00 noon - 1:00 PM

    WHERE: South Park (between 2nd and 3rd, Bryant and Brannan) San Francisco.
    (In the event of rain, an indoor location will be announced)

    SPEAKERS: Mike Godwin, EFF; John Gilmore, co-founder, EFF; Denise Caruso, New York Times columnist; Jim Warren, online activist; Howard Rheingold, author; Dave Winer, essayist and software developer; Audrie Krause, Executive Director, CPSR; Jonathan Steuer, CEO, Cyborganic Corp; Michael Goldberg, Publisher, Addicted To Noise.

    BRING: Attention-grabbing posters, signs, and banners that demonstrate your committment to free speech and expression, and your feelings about Congress.

    FOR UPDATED INFORMATION: http://www.hotwired.com/staff/digaman

    (Although this event is being organized in the offices of Wired magazine and HotWired, we are actively seeking participation and support from all members of the local community. Please forward this message to anyone you think should attend, and to all relevant news groups.)

    CONTACT: Todd Lappin -- 415-222-6241 -- protest@wired.com

    Return to the Table of Contents


    ALERT: Seattle Anti-Censorship Rally, Thu. noon-1pm PST

    Please distribute -- Please distribute -- Please distribute

    ** RALLY ** RALLY ** STOP INTERNET CENSORSHIP ** RALLY ** RALLY **

    SEATTLE RALLY

    Thursday, December 14th

    NOON

    Seattle Public Library Auditorium (3rd floor)
    1000 Fourth Avenue

    Congress is putting an axe to the Internet and Free Speech. On-line services as we know it could disappear and the free flow of information will stop. Join is in this rally against unreasonable censorship!

    This rally is scheduled to coincide with a similar rally in San Francisco.

    SPEAK UP NOW -- OR WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO IN THE FUTURE!!!

    Sponsored by:

  • CPSR-Seattle
  • ACLU-Washington
  • Seattle Community Network
  • 911 Media Arts Center

    Speakers will include: Rob Glaser (EFF board of directors, founder of Progressive Networks & RealAudio)

    Please distribute this notice to all concerned parties

    Contact:

    Sam Tucker <samt@prognet.com>
    Progressive Networks, Inc.
    Home of What's New In Activism Online
    http://www.wnia.org/WNIA/hap/rally.html

    Return to the Table of Contents


    ALERT: Austin Anti-Censorship Rally, Tue. Dec. 19

    An Austin, Texas, anti-censorship rally will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 19, organized by EFF-Austin. It is later than the others, but they didn't feel that they could (a) get the word out in time and (b) find a suitable location before then.

    More details as they become available (expected evening of Dec. 13.)

    Contact:

    David Smith, President, EFF-Austin
    bladex@bga.com
    +1 512 304 6308

    [Part or all of the above alerts borrowed from older announcents from the organizers of the rallies.]

    Return to the Table of Contents


    Subject: NIIAC Opposes Internet Censorship, Supports Filtering Technology

    EFF reports that at the National Information Advisory Council public meeting, the Council voted to send the following letter to Commerce Dept. Secretary Ron Brown. NIIAC is a civilian advisory body to the Clinton Administration on NII issues, including privacy and free expression. EFF board of directors chair Esther Dyson sits on this Council, as has EFF co-founder Mitch Kapor.

    Letter starts:

    National Information Infrastructure Advisory Council

    TO: Secretary of Commerce - Ron Brown

    Dear Mr. Secretary:

    As you know, the important subject of free speech in a digital environment is currently being debated on Capitol Hill. Today, the NII Advisory Council has adopted recommendations on a number of issues, including that of free speech.

    The Council has agreed on a KickStart Initiative, which recommends that every community provide points of access to the information superhighway though its schools, libraries and community centers. We must provide parents and teachers with the tools to guide children. The NIIAC believes that appropriate access to the data superhighway can be handled without government intervention and restrictions. Our KickStart Initiative gives guidance to parents and schools on this issue and points to available means of filtering out inappropriate material and rating systems which can be used to guide children's access to material.

    The NIIAC believes that the rights of free speech should not be abridged in the digital age. Furthermore, content and services which may be appropriate for some, may be innapropriate for others. Rather than restrict all people from access to these technologies, content and services, we should find other ways to deal with the issue. Also, to ensure that information technology and services may evolve in a timely, productive and competitive fashion, maximum freedom of choice by individuals and organizations in selecting the technologies, content and services is critical. Therefore, the NIIAC has unanimously adopted the following recommendation:

    The government should not be in the business of regulating content on the Information Superhighway. It should defer to the use of privately provided filtering, reviewing, rating mechanisms and parental supervision, as the best means of preventing access by minors to inappropriate materials.

    We hope that this recommendation will be useful to you in your deliberations on this issue.

    Sincerely,

    [sigs]

    Edward R. McCracken, Co-Chair
    Delano Lewis, Co-Chair

    ***** end letter *****

    Return to the Table of Contents


    Subject: Newsnibbles

  • Newsbytes section renamed.

    Due to legal threats from Newsbytes News Network, who perhaps dubiously claim our use of "Newsbytes" as an article title is a violation of their trademark, we're renamed this section Newsnibbles. Only geeks will fully grok the pun. :) No other Newsbytes (oops!)...nibbles for this issue, due to the urgency of the lead articles.

    Return to the Table of Contents


    Subject: Upcoming Events

    This schedule lists events that are directly EFF-related. A much more detailed calendar of events likely to be of interest to our members and supporters is maintained at:

  • ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/EFF/calendar.eff
  • gopher://gopher.eff.org/1/EFF/calendar.eff
  • http://www.eff.org/pub/EFF/calendar.eff

    1995

    Dec. 12 - National Day of Internet Protest against net censorship legislation
    URL: http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/s652_hr1555.alert

    Dec. 13 - Second National Day of Internet Protest against net censorship legislation
    URL: http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/s652_hr1555.alert

    Dec. 14 - Third National Day of Internet Protest against net censorship legislation
    URL: http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/s652_hr1555.alert

    - Rally & Press Conference Against Internet Censorship
    2-3pm EST CyberCafe, East Village, New York City, NY.
    Speakers will include Sabbir Safdar (VTW) and Ann Beeson (ACLU). Others expected. No info available until the 13th.
    Email: shabbir@panix.com or stc@vtw.org
    URL: http://www.vtw.org (no info here yet)

    - Rally Against Internet Censorship
    12noon-1pm PST, South Park, San Francisco Calif.
    Help stop the demagogues in Washington! There is nothing "decent" about denying free speech to us, our children, and our children's children. Preserve our Constitutional rights! Join us!
    Speakers to include EFF staff counsel Mike Godwin, EFF co-founder John Gilmore, Jim Warren (GovAccess), Howard Rheingold (Virtual Community author), Dave Winder (essayist), CPSR exec. dir. Audrie Krause, Jonathan Steuer (Cyborganic Corp. CEO), and EFF boardmembers emeritus Denise Caruso (New York Times) and Jane Metcalfe (Wired).
    Contact: Todd Lappin, +1 415 222 6241 (voice - please see URL first)
    Email: protest@wired.com
    URL: http://www.hotwired.com/staff/digaman

    - Rally Against Internet Censorship
    12noon-1pm PST, Seattle Public Library Auditorium (3rd floor) 1000 Fourth Avenue, Seattle Wash.
    Sponsored by: CPSR-Seattle, ACLU-Washington, Seattle Community Network, 911 Media Arts Center. Speakers will include Rob Glaser (EFF/Progressive Networks/RealAudio).
    Email: samt@prognet.com
    URL: http://www.wnia.org/WNIA/hap/rally.html

    Dec. 19 - Rally Against Internet Censorship
    Austin Texas. Organized by EFF-Austin. No other info available yet.
    Contact: +1 512 304 6308
    Email: bladex@bga.com
    URL: gopher://gopher.zilker.net:70/11/eff-austin/ (no info here yet)

    1996

    Jan. 17 - 18 Innovation Now
    Oregon Convention Center, Portland Oregon.
    Sponsored by American Electronics Association's Oregon Council, et al. Speakers include EFF chair of the board Esther Dyson.

    URL: http://www.innovationnow.org/

    Return to the Table of Contents


    Subject: Quote Of The Day

    "[L]iberty of the press is the right of the lonely pamphleteer who uses carbon paper or a mimeograph just as much as of the large metropolitan publisher who utilizes the latest photocomposition methods."

    Find yourself wondering if your privacy and freedom of speech are safe when bills to censor the Internet are swimming about in a sea of of surveillance legislation and anti-terrorism hysteria? Worried that in the rush to make us secure from ourselves that our government representatives may deprive us of our essential civil liberties? Concerned that legislative efforts nominally to "protect children" will actually censor all communications down to only content suitable for the playground? Alarmed by commercial and religious organizations abusing intellectual property law to stifle satire, dissent and criticism?

    Join EFF!

    Even if you don't live in the U.S., the anti-Internet hysteria will soon be visiting a legislative body near you. If it hasn't already.

    Return to the Table of Contents


    Subject: What YOU Can Do

  • The Communications Decency Act & Other Censorship Legislation

    The Communications Decency Act and similar legislation pose serious threats to freedom of expression online, and to the livelihoods of system operators. The legislation also undermines several crucial privacy protections.

    Business/industry persons concerned should alert their corporate govt. affairs office and/or legal counsel. Everyone should write to their own Representatives and Senators, and especially the conference committee members, asking them to oppose Internet censorship legislation, and write to the conference committee members to support the reasonable approaches of Leahy, Klink, Cox and Wyden, and to oppose the unconstitutional proposals of Exon, Gorton and others. Urge them to accept Whyte's demands that system operators not be held liable for crimes they did not commit, and that the FCC be barred from regulating the Internet. Participate in the National Internet Days of Protest. Take part in anti-censorship rallies. See the first five articles in this newsletter for more detailed info.

    For more information on what you can do to help stop this and other dangerous legislation, see:

  • ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Alerts/
  • gopher://gopher.eff.org/1/Alerts
  • http://www.eff.org/pub/Alerts/

    If you do not have full internet access (e.g. WWW), send your request for information to ask@eff.org.

  • Digital Telephony/Comms. Assistance to Law Enforcement Act

    The FBI is now seeking both funding for the DT/CALEA wiretapping provisions, and preparing to require that staggering numbers of citizens be simultaneously wiretappable.

    To oppose the funding, write to your own Senators and Representatives urging them to vote against any appropriations for wiretapping. To oppose the FBI's wiretapping capacity demands, see the FBI Federal Register notice at the end of the second article in this newsletter, which contains instructions on how to submit formal comments on the ludicrous and dangerous proposal - DEADLINE: Jan. 96!

  • Anti-Terrorism Bills Numerous bills threatening your privacy and free speech have been introduced this year. None of them are close to passage at this very moment, but this status may change. Urge your Congresspersons to oppose these unconstitutional and Big-Brotherish bills.

  • The Anti-Electronic Racketeering Act This bill is unlikely to pass in any form, being very poorly drafted, and without much support. However, the CDA is just as bad and passed with flying colors [the jolly roger?] in the Senate. It's better to be safe than sorry. If you have a few moments to spare, writing to, faxing, or calling your Congresspersons to urge opposition to this bill is a good idea. If you only have time to do limited activism, please concentrate on the Internet censorship legislation instead. That legislation is far more imminent that the AERA.

  • Medical Privacy Legislation Several bills relating to medical privacy issues are floating in Congress right now. Urge your legislators to support only proposals that truly enhance the medical privacy of citizens. More information on this legislation will be available at http://www.eff.org/pub/Privacy/Medical/ soon. Bug mech@eff.org to make it appear there faster. :)

  • Find Out Who Your Congresspersons Are

    Writing letters to, faxing, and phoning your representatives in Congress is one very important strategy of activism, and an essential way of making sure YOUR voice is heard on vital issues.

    EFF has lists of the Senate and House with contact information, as well as lists of Congressional committees. (A House list is included in this issue of EFFector). These lists are available at:

  • ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/Activism/Congress_cmtes/
  • gopher://gopher.eff.org/1/EFF/Issues/Activism/Congress_cmtes
  • http://www.eff.org/pub/Activism/Congress_cmtes/

    The full Senate and House lists are senate.list and hr.list, respectively. Those not in the U.S. should seek out similar information about their own legislative bodies. EFF will be happy to archive any such information provided.

    If you are having difficulty determining who your Representatives are, try contacting your local League of Women Voters, who maintain a great deal of legislative information, or consult the free ZIPPER service that matches Zip Codes to Congressional districts with about 85% accuracy at: http://www.stardot.com/~lukeseem/zip.html

  • Join EFF!

    You know privacy, freedom of speech and ability to make your voice heard in government are important. You have probably participated in our online campaigns and forums. Have you become a member of EFF yet? The best way to protect your online rights is to be fully informed and to make your opinions heard. EFF members are informed and are making a difference. Join EFF today!

    For EFF membership info, send queries to membership@eff.org, or send any message to info@eff.org for basic EFF info, and a membership form.

    Return to the Table of Contents


    Administrivia

    EFFector Online is published by:


    The Electronic Frontier Foundation
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    General EFF, legal, policy or online resources queries: ask@eff.org


    Editor: Stanton McCandlish, Online Services Mgr./Activist/Archivist (mech@eff.org)
    This newsletter printed on 100% recycled electrons.

    Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of EFF. To reproduce signed articles individually, please contact the authors for their express permission. Press releases and EFF announcements may be reproduced individ- ually at will.

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