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Text File  |  1996-03-23  |  14KB  |  178 lines
  1. ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  2. │CITIZENS                                                                     │
  3. │INTERNET                                                                     │
  4. │EMPOWERMENT                                                                  │
  5. │COALITION                                                                    │
  6. │1634 EYE STREET NW, SUITE 1100                                               │
  7. │WASHINGTON, DC. 20006                                                        │
  8. │(202) 637-9800                                                               │
  9. │FAX (202) 637-0968                                                           │
  10. │                                                                             │
  11. │Management Committee:                                                        │
  12. │Jerry Berman,CDT                                                             │
  13. │William Burrington,AOL                                                       │
  14. │Judith Krug,ALA                                                              │
  15. │                                                                             │
  16. │Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Litigation Fact Sheet                │
  17. │March 1996                                                                   │
  18. │                                                                             │
  19. │In response to the indecency restrictions imposed on the Internet            │
  20. │by the Communications Decency Act (CDA), the Citizens Internet Empowerment   │
  21. │Coalition has been formed to challenge the law as violative of the First     │
  22. │Amendment.                                                                   │
  23. │                                                                             │
  24. │The Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition (CIEC)  is a large and           │
  25. │diverse group of organizations who share the common goal of protecting the   │
  26. │First Amendment and the viability of the Internet in the 21st century.  Its  │
  27. │35 organizational members include libraries, book publishers, newspaper      │
  28. │publishers, editors, advertisers, commercial online service providers,       │
  29. │Internet access providers, non-profit groups, and civil liberties            │
  30. │advocates.  Over 10,000 individual Internet users have also joined the CIEC  │
  31. │effort. The CIEC is coordinated by the Center for Democracy and Technology,  │
  32. │America Online, and the American Library Association.                        │
  33. │                                                                             │
  34. │The primary goal of the coalition lawsuit is to establish in                 │
  35. │constitutional jurisprudence that the Internet is a unique communications    │
  36. │medium, deserving unique First Amendment protection -- that it is unlike     │
  37. │the broadcast medium and, should receive at least the same broad protection  │
  38. │afforded to the print media.  Coalition members believe that children can    │
  39. │be protected from inappropriate material online with the help of blocking    │
  40. │and filtering technology now available.  Parents, not the United States      │
  41. │Government, are the best and most appropriate judges of what material is     │
  42. │appropriate for themselves and their children.                               │
  43. │                                                                             │
  44. │The Coalition law suit, ALA v. United States Department of Justice           │
  45. │et al.  was filed on February 26, with a Preliminary Injunction Motion       │
  46. │filed later on March 1.  The suit,  handled by Bruce Ennis of  the law firm  │
  47. │of Jenner and Block in Washington D.C. , has been consolidated with one      │
  48. │filed earlier by the ACLU challenging the CDA. A three-judge court convened  │
  49. │by the Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeal in Philadelphia will hear       │
  50. │evidence in the consolidated case through the middle of April, with a        │
  51. │decision expected soon after. The case will then go directly to the United   │
  52. │States Supreme Court.                                                        │
  53. │                                                                             │
  54. │Educating The Court On The Nature Of The Internet And Alternatives To        │
  55. │Censorship                                                                   │
  56. │                                                                             │
  57. │CIEC's complaint and memorandum in support of motion for                     │
  58. │preliminary injunction detail the history of the Internet and outlines how   │
  59. │the network operates.  The CIEC intends to educate the court on how the      │
  60. │Internet functions and why the broad content regulations imposed by the CDA  │
  61. │threaten the very existence of the Internet as a viable medium for free      │
  62. │expression, education, and commerce.  Among other things, the CIEC           │
  63. │challenge argues that:                                                       │
  64. │                                                                             │
  65. │*       The Internet is a unique communications medium which deserves First  │
  66. │Amendment protections at least as broad as those afforded to print media.    │
  67. │                                                                             │
  68. │*       In light of the unique nature of the Internet, the CDA's effort to   │
  69. │graft old dial-a-porn regulations onto the Internet amounts to a total ban   │
  70. │on a vast amount of constitutionally protected speech between adults.        │
  71. │                                                                             │
  72. │*       The CDA will be ineffective at protecting children from "indecent"   │
  73. │or   "patently" offensive material on the "world-wide" web. The net is       │
  74. │global.                                                                      │
  75. │                                                                             │
  76. │*       Individual users and parents, not the Federal Government, should     │
  77. │determine for themselves and their children what material comes into their   │
  78. │homes based on their own tastes and values.  Easy to use and effective       │
  79. │blocking software and services are readily available for this purpose.       │
  80. │                                                                             │
  81. │The full text of the CIEC complaint, along with other relevant background    │
  82. │information, and information on how you can participate in this landmark     │
  83. │case, can be found on the CIEC World Wide Web Page at                        │
  84. │<http://www.cdt.org/ciec/>                                                   │
  85. │                                                                             │
  86. │Impact of the Communications Decency Act                                     │
  87. │                                                                             │
  88. │Liability under the Communications Decency Act (CDA) extends from            │
  89. │commercial and non-commercial content providers, web site operators,         │
  90. │libraries, universities, and online service providers who host or provide    │
  91. │material which violates the indecency ban.  Although this case involves a    │
  92. │ban on indecent communication on the Internet, the way the Supreme Court     │
  93. │resolves that issue will effectively resolve the constitutionality of a      │
  94. │later ban on offensive, violent, hateful or otherwise unwanted               │
  95. │communications online.  In order to assure that Internet can continue to be  │
  96. │a forum for the free exchange of valuable information and ideas, free from   │
  97. │onerous and chilling censorship, we are challenging the indecency            │
  98. │restrictions contained in the Communications Decency Act.                    │
  99. │                                                                             │
  100. │                                                                             │
  101. │Relationship with Other CDA Challenges                                       │
  102. │