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    Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Trial Update No. 4
              Afternoon Update -  March 21, 1996 1:00 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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          ** 30,000 Netizens Vs. U.S. Department of Justice. **
                 * The Fight To Save Free Speech Online *
  Contents:

  o Afternoon Update - Live from the Courtroom in Philadelphia
       INTERNET 101 - WHAT IS THE NET AND HOW DOES IT WORK?
  o More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology

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Live from the courtroom in Philadelphia...

INTERNET 101 -- WHAT IS THE NET AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

The Court has just taken a recess for lunch. This morning, the Court heard
testimony from Scott Bradner (of Harvard University and the IETF), who was
called on behalf of the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition. Bradner,
who answered questions posed by the Justice Department, gave the court a 3
hour overview of the nature of the Internet and how it functions.

Bradner gave a detailed overview of the Internet standards setting
processes, and then described the various functions available online,
including the World Wide Web, Usenet Newsgroups, ftp, telnet, and
electronic mail. Throughout his testimony, Bradner illustrated to the court
that the Internet is a vast, decentralized global network containing
information on a huge variety of subjects, from Newsgroups on Formula One
auto-racing to the catalogues of the Harvard Library.

When outlining the various ways users can access information on the
Internet, Bradner stressed that users have tremendous control over the
material they access.  Bradner's testimony illustrated to the court that if
a user wants to access information on a particular subject, they must seek
out that information and affirmatively request it before any information is
provided.  The Government did not attempt to refute this claim, nor did
they present any evidence to the contrary.

The 3 judges were actively involved in this morning's testimony, and asked
many questions which indicated that, despite the flurry of acronyms and
technical details Bradner presented, they understand the basic nature of
the Internet as presented today.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE CASE?

While it is obviously still far too early to draw any conclusions about the
outcome of this case, this morning's testimony was an important first step
in showing the court that the Internet is a unique communications
technology distinct from mass media such as Radio and TV. As you know, this
argument is a critical piece of the CIEC challenge. Bradner's testimony
showed that, while the Internet is ubiquitous network accessible from
virtually anywhere, it is not, as the Justice Department seeks to show,
"pervasive" in the same way as traditional mass media.

Testimony will resume at 1:30 pm with Ann Duvall, President of SurfWatch
Software (and another CIEC witness). Using the Net.connection installed in
the court, Ann will demonstrate the World Wide Web and illustrate how
SurfWatch functions.  Scott Bradner will return tomorrow (Friday 3/22)
morning for follow-up questions by CIEC attorneys.

Situation permitting, we will post an update later today on the afternoon
testimony.

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2. 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.4
3/21/96