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Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Trial Update No. 12
Special Update -- May 16 1996 5:56 pm ET
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http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
ciec-info@cdt.org
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CIEC UPDATES intended for members of the Citizens Internet
Empowerment Coalition. CIEC Updates are written and edited by the
Center for Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org). This
document may be reposted as long as it remains in total.
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** 40,000 Netizens Vs. U.S. Department of Justice. **
* The Fight To Save Free Speech Online *
Contents:
o Court Orders DOJ to Halt "Reviews" Under the CDA
o Transcripts from All 6 days of Court Testimony Now Online
o How To Unsubscribe from this list
o More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology
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(1) Court Orders DOJ to Halt "Reviews" Under the CDA
In response to a complaint filed last week by the CIEC, a Federal Judge in
Philadelphia Wednesday ordered the Justice Department to stop all "reviews"
of complaints under the Communications Decency Act until the three-judge
panel rules on the constitutionality of the law. The order was issued by
Judge Stewart Dalzell, one of the three judges presiding over the case.
CIEC attorneys filed the compliant after several national newspapers
reported last week that the FBI had opened an investigation of CompuServe
for violations of the CDA. The FBI has since denied that any investigation
is or was underway, though the stories sparked a great deal of confusion
and created a significant public relations problem for the commercial
online service.
In the order Judge Dalzell stated that "the government's conduct in
subjecting a content provider to private and public scrutiny for displaying
material that is neither obscene nor child pornography clearly runs afoul
of both this Court's orders and the government's promises."
Closing arguments in the case concluded on Friday May 10, and a final
decision on the constitutionality of the CDA is expected soon. While
Wednesday's ruling by Judge Dalzell provides little insight into which way
the court will rule on the constitutionality of the CDA, the speed with
which the order was issued does show that the court appreciates the
tremendous free speech and commercial concerns riding on this case.
The full text of the seven page order, tramscripts from Friday's oral
arguments, and with other relevant information, is available at the
Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition web page:
http://www.cdt.org/ciec
BACKGROUND ON THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/AFA FOLLIES
After a Philadelphia federal judge granted a temporary restraining order
against the CDA in February, the government agreed not to prosecute or
investigate anyone for violations of the CDA until the court challenge had
been completed. However, recent events have called the government's
commitment to the February agreement into question.
In early April, the conservative American Family Association (AFA) filed a
complaint with the Justice Department accusing Compuserve of violating the
CDA for material in a forum called MacGlamour, despite the fact that the
site was labeled for adults only and Compuserve provides its users free
software to block access to unwanted material.
Last week in response to pressure from the AFA, acting Chief of the DOJ
Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Terry Lord sent a letter to AFA
director Patrick Truman indicating that the Department "has referred [the
AFA] letter and accompanying materials to the Federal Bureau of
Investigation for further review."
The FBI denied it was investigating, which would have been a violation of
the February court agreement, but said it was "reviewing" the AFA
complaint. CIEC attorneys asked the court to clarify if such a "review"
violated the government's promise not to investigate or prosecute under the
CDA.
In granting the motion for clarification, Judge Dalzell ordered Attorney
General Reno, the Justice Department, and the FBI to stop all "reviews" of
online indecency complaints pending a decision regarding the
constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act.
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(2) Hearing Transcripts for All 6 Days of Testimony Now Online
Transcripts for all 6 days of hearings, including last Friday's (5/10)
closing arguments, are now available online at the CIEC web site:
http://www.cdt.org/ciec
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(3) How to Unsubscribe From This List
As CIEC members, you have been invited to join this list in order to
receive news updates and other information relevant to the CIEC challenge
to the Communications Decency Act. To subscribe, visit
http://www.cdt.org/ciec and join the Coalition.
If you ever want to remove yourself from this list, send email to
ciec-members-request@cdt.org
with 'unsubscribe ciec-members' in the SUBJECT LINE (w/o the 'quotes').
Leave the body of your message blank.
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(4) For More Information
For more information on the CIEC challenge, including the text of the
complaint and other relevant materials:
* World Wide Web -- http://www.cdt.org/ciec/
* General Information about CIEC -- ciec-info@cdt.org
* Copy of the Complaint -- ciec-docs@cdt.org
* Specific Questions Regarding the
Coalition, incuding Press Inquiries -- ciec@cdt.org
* General information about the
Center for Democracy and Technology -- info@cdt.org
--
end ciec-update.12
5/16/96
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