[11227] in Public-Access_Computer_Systems_Forum
Net censorship, access cost increase, and Intellectual Property alert!
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (FACTNet International)
Tue Apr 15 23:37:57 1997
Date: Tue, 15 Apr 1997 20:42:13 -0500 (CDT)
From: FACTNet International <factnet@rmi.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list PACS-L <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
Reply-To: Public-Access Computer Systems Forum <PACS-L@UHUPVM1.UH.EDU>
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Net censorship, access cost increase, and Intellectual Property alert!
Every netizen or organization that wants low cost net access, net=20
free speech, and uncensored e-mail has a high stake in a court=20
case soon to be decided in the litigation war involving Scientology,
the Internet, and a nonprofit electronic library and historic archive=20
called FactNet.
An emergency Internet and legal issues briefing has been prepared for=20
you and/or your organization at (www.factnet.org). Factnet=92s Board of=20
Directors urgently asks your help to promote both media coverage and=20
a vigorous dialogue among netizens on the immediate and substantial=20
threat this briefing discloses to the future of the Internet.=20
To help understand the importance of this briefing to Internet costs,=20
Internet slowdowns, Internet intellectual property and Internet free=20
speech please find the following media quotes.
"If the church's (Scientology=92s) lawsuits prevail...future providers=20
of bulletin boards and newsgroups on the World Wide Web, as well as=20
the companies running such subscriber services as Prodigy, Compuserve,=20
and America Online might be forced to monitor or restrict information
simply because they fear being sued...If system operators are liable for
the content of the postings, it will lead to censorship...It would change
the whole idea of how the Internet develops -- it's that important."=20
--Shari Steele, attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, as
quoted in "The Net: Copyright or 'Free Press'?" Newsday, 10/10/95
"Besides the technological curtailment of free speech, a skirmish like
this one has the potential to completely disrupt the online operation not
only of individual users, but also of entire networks overloaded by
traffic their circuits were never designed to handle." =20
--Colman Jones, "Freedom Flames Out on the 'Net: Who Launched the=20
largest-ever Sabotage of the Internet?"=20
www.now.com/issues/15/44/News/feature.html=20
"Other [Internet] users have reported mysterious incidents: investigators
visiting their neighbors, strangers attempting to get into their telepho=
ne
records, e-mail sent to their sysadmins asking that their accounts be
closed down. How did we get to this, in a free country?...
"It turns out that a belief in free speech and an interest in=20
Scientology may involve you in the bitterest battle fought across=20
the Internet to date. A fight that has burst the banks of the Net=20
and into the real world of police,lawyers, and armed search and=20
seizure. Ultimately, however, the drama doesn't matter: the real=20
issues here are the boundaries of free speech and the future of=20
copyright and intellectual property in the face of a
technology that can scatter copies across the world in seconds...
"Whatever the motives, when computers are seized because they
contain allegedly purloined intellectual property, messages are
intercepted as they traverse the network, or the security of anonymous
remailers is pierced by police, the days of the Internet as a cozy,
private, intellectual cocktail party are over. .."=20
--Wendy M. Grossman, "alt.scientology.war," Wired, 8/95
Lest anyone doubt Scientology's intentions, an article in the most=20
recent issue of an internal Scientology magazine called "High Winds"=20
proudly trumpets "groundbreaking lawsuits against both copyright=20
infringers and the computer service companies that served as=20
electronic conduits" for them. It goes on to predict "landmark=20
decisions" in which, "for the first time, Internet access providers=20
will be held responsible for any copyright infringements posted=20
through their facilities." =20
"The Internet is an information age tool that empowers individuals and
reduces the need for a large, authoritarian government. It empowers the
poor with an unregulated world of entrepreneurial opportunity...=20
Information and the new frontier could create a more fair, peaceful=20
society The free flow of information is central to America's foundation,=20
and '90s technology only enhances it. Unfortunately, it's all big threat
to those in power who rely on the control of information to secure=20
their lofty positions. No matter what they call it, free speech is the=20
issue." --Wayne Langsen, "Raiding Free Speech," Boulder Weekly editorial.=
=20
8/24/95=20
PLEASE help protect our mutual Internet freedoms by appropriately=20
forwarding this briefing to your personal or organizational network=20
of individuals, newsgroups, listservs, net media, and net watch=20
organizations where it hasn=92t appeared yet.
Your timely attention to this critical briefing is appreciated,
The Directors of Factnet
Boulder Colorado USA
P.S. Factnet has been reconstructing its electronic files since they=20
were sabotaged and returned to us by court order after the Scientology=20
raid. Our original mailing lists consisted of individuals and organizatio=
ns=20
who had viewed materials or had an interest in Scientology=92s Internet=20
abuses and other human rights abuses. Because of the raid we are not=20
fully certain that our reconstructed mailing lists contain what they=20
originally contained or have been reassembled back into the proper lists.=
=20
These reconstructed mailing lists are far to important to the battle for=20
Internet free speech not to begin using again just because they were in=20
Scientology's possession.
If you have received this alert and you have not previously reviewed or=20
been interested in any information on these issues let us know and we=20
will immediately correct the situation. We ask your understanding if=20
there has been an error or duplicate mailing. Try to imagine someone=20
illegally seizing all of your computers and computer files then searching=
=20
and altering and destroying parts of them. Finally you get it all back=20
to you in boxes and pieces. That's what happened to Factnet. Over the=20
last 12 months with minimal resources it has had to reconstruct 6=20
gigabits of its deliberately disordered returned libraries and files. =20
