[107294] in Cypherpunks
Federal Judge Nukes Web Site
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Eric Cordian)
Fri Jan 8 22:40:06 1999
From: Eric Cordian <emc@wire.insync.net>
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 21:25:36 -0600 (CST)
Reply-To: Eric Cordian <emc@wire.insync.net>
Here's an interesting case of free speech being stomped on. The
Internet Entertainment Group(IEG) set up a web site with information
on the Pope's Jan 26-27 visit to St. Louis, and stuck an adult ad at
the bottom of each web page.
The site points out that the adult content may be inappropriate for
children, and that it has no affiliation with the Catholic Church.
A judge, acting on a complaint from the Archdiocese of St. Louis,
apparently feels he has the power to order the site dismantled
immediately.
The Pope is a public figure, and certainly not a licensed and
trademarked cartoon character owned by the Catholic Church or the
Archdiocese of St. Louis, whose commercial use is somehow regulated.
This would seem not to be just the camel's nose under the tent, but
the entire camel family.
Perhaps it is time for a Cypherpunks Papal Information and Favorite
Porn Link mirroring exercise. Are any of those Eternity Servers still
up?
-----
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A Web site featuring information about Pope John
Paul II's visit to St. Louis, along with erotic pictures, was ordered
removed Friday from the Internet.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis said a Web site by Internet Entertainment
Group was confusing Internet users seeking information on the Jan.
26-27 visit, the pope's only scheduled U.S. stop this year. It also
infringed on the Archdiocese's trademark, their lawyers told a federal
judge
``It's inappropriate. It's degrading. It's deceptive. And it's
wrong,'' archdiocese spokesman Steve Mamanella said.
The judge told Seattle-based IEG to dismantle its site immediately. A
Wednesday hearing was scheduled to determine whether the order should
be made permanent.
IEG spokeswoman John Dalton said the company plans to fight the
restraining order. He declined further comment.
The site does include a message in bold letters advising parental
discretion. It also notes that neither IEG nor the Web site is
affiliated with the Catholic Church or the archdiocese.
It includes John Paul's scheduled stops in St. Louis, as well as links
to attractions, hotels and sporting events. But nestled at the bottom
of each Web page is an advertisement for IEG's erotic adult Web site
Clublove, which features sexually explicit material.
``They're doing it to make money and to lure people into their
pornographic Web site,'' said Mamanella, who discovered the site by
accident while doing an Internet search using various key words.
He was not the only one who stumbled upon the site. Numerous people
have called the archdiocese in recent days to complain about IEG.
--
Eric Michael Cordian 0+
O:.T:.O:. Mathematical Munitions Division
"Do What Thou Wilt Shall Be The Whole Of The Law"
