Prior Restraint on Publishers

I used to think things like this would be quickly declared
unconstitutional, but not any longer. The New Order is making things like
this all too predictable. I just hope Adam Shostack does not get in even
more trouble for speaking out.

--Winston Smith


>
>From the New Yerk Tomes cybertimes:
>
>Proposed U.S. Rules Would Place Prior Restraint on Publishers
>
>By PETER MAYNOR
>
>Under a proposed set of rules being circulated by the Commerce
>Department, the Clinton Administration is considering regulating
>Web servers that allow publishing of political tracts and other forms
>of information. Among the sites that would be affected are those now
>operated by organizations like Planned Parenthood, the National Rifle
>Association, and Citizens for the Destruction of Washington, all of
>which distribute publications over the Web. Under the proposed rules,
>access to such sites would be more tightly controlled or could disappear
>altogether in the future.
>
>The requirement for Federal approval of a Web server, however, is
>buried inside the densely written, virtually impenetrable document,
>and the change is not even noted in the executive summary at the
>beginning. The new regulation would require that anyone setting up
>a Web server offering published materials seek an "advisory opinion"
>from the Bureau of Thoughtcrime Affairs.
>
>The opinions carry no weight in court and only serve as an indication
>of the agency's view on the matter at a given moment. A company
>could later be prosecuted for publishing materials despite receiving
>permission in an advisory opinion, although the existence of the
>opinion should offer some emotional support with the court. Failure to
>seek >permission will likely be interpreted by courts as evidence of
>criminal tendencies.
>
>The purpose of the rule is to force the Web server to take all prudent steps
>to ensure that publications do not violate the laws of the United States.
>
>The proposed regulations do not set out any hard and fast guidelines
>for an organization to meet.  The new regulations hwould effectively force
>>organzations to shut down their Web servers until the Ministry of Truth
>could rule on the material -- a process that can take several months.
>
>Brewart Staker, a former general counsel for the Ministry of Truth who now
>>practices at the Washington law firm Goldsgtein, Blair & Orwell, said
>that the >difficulty the regulators face is that the regulations must
>adapt to a quickly >changing Internet environment.
>
>"They're saying 'Here's the basic standard. Show us what you're trying to
>do. If you're doing what we feel is a good faith effort, then we'll
>approve it,'" >Staker said. "They don't quite say that, but I suspect
>that's what's going on."
>
>To draw an analogy, he compared the action to a hand check in basketball, a
>move by which a defensive player warns someone with a ball that they're
>there by touching them. "Think of this as just as a friendly >warning from
>Big >Brother, telling you he loves you and is looking out for your best
>interests."
>
>Adam Shostack, a Boston-based Cypherpunk facing imprisonment for
>belonging to a subversive organization,  said that the current rules were
>already making it difficult for his clients to publish their ideas. The
>new >regulations, Shostack predicted, will just make matters worse.
>
>"We've never needed the permission of the government to publish
>anything in this country," Shostack said. "I don't see where their
>legal authority comes from."
>

Thanks.  :)

Adam



The Ministry of Truth's archives tell us that Winston Smith wrote:

| I used to think things like this would be quickly declared
| unconstitutional, but not any longer. The New Order is making things like
| this all too predictable. I just hope Adam Shostack does not get in even
| more trouble for speaking out.
| 
| --Winston Smith


-- 
"It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once."
					               -Hume

At 7:21 PM -0700 8/24/97, Adam Shostack wrote:
>Thanks.  :)
>

By the way, which list address are you now subscribed to...I switched from
algebra. com to cyberpass.net, but now expect to see 2-3 hours delay before
posts appear.

(This applies to others, too. I'm getting replies to my posts, when sent
directly to me, literally hours before seeing it on the list. Someone
mentioned subscribing to toad.com, which, to tell the truth, I thought had
vanished as a list origination site months ago.)

--Tim

There's something wrong when I'm a felon under an increasing number of laws.
Only one response to the key grabbers is warranted: "Death to Tyrants!"
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1398269     | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."