ACLU sues GA over net ban

[camcc@abraxis.com (Alec)]

>X-Sender: ewatkins@pop.ipst.edu
>Date:         Wed, 20 Nov 1996 16:01:30 -0500
>Reply-To: Electronic Frontiers Ga Action Mailing List <ACTION@efga.org>
>Sender: Electronic Frontiers Ga Action Mailing List <ACTION@efga.org>
>From: Eric James Watkins <eric.watkins@IPST.EDU>
>Subject:      AJC [Atlanta Journal and Constitution] Front page Tuesday final edition
>To: ACTION@EFGA.ORG
>
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>We made the front page!!! I don't have
>permission to distribute this.  I consider it fair use, and I did suggest
>everyone buy a paper earlier.  Note:  The AJC does not archive these articles.
>----------------------------------------
>ACLU sues the state over its ban on some Internet communication
>
>By Art Kramer
>STAFF WRITER
>
>    The ACLU filed suit against the state Tuesday, alleging that a Georgia
>law barring the use of pseudonyms and anonymous communication on the
>Internet is unconstitutional.
>    In the first court challenge in an ongoing campaign against
>Internet-related laws in 13 states, the American Civil Liberties Union
>alleges that when Georgia passed the law affecting the Internet, it
>unconstitutionally encroached on the federal power to regulate interstate
>commerce.
>    The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta on behalf of
>Electronic Frontiers Georgia (EFGA), Rep. Mitchell Kaye (R-Marietta), and 12
>other groups and individuals.
>    "The right to speak and publish using a virtual 'nom de plume' has its
>roots in a long tradition dating back to the very founding of democracy in
>this country," said Ann Beeson, staff attorney for the ACLU.
>    Beeson's use of the Constitution's "commerce clause," the first in an
>Internet-related case, could invalidate many state laws affecting the global
>computer network, said Trotter Hardy, a professor of law at William and Mary
>Law School in Williamsburg, Va.
>    But Hardy said that approach could backfire by strengthening the case
>for federal regulation of the Internet, a result civil libertarians may come
>to regret.
>    State Attorney General Michael Bowers said Tuesday he had not reviewed
>the case yet, but that his office typically pursues lawsuits against the
>state vigorously. He has 20 days to respond in court.
>    The ACLU is among a coalition that in February challenged the federal
>Communications Decency Act, which bars online content deemed indecent or
>"patently offensive." A Philadelphia federal court's decision in June to
>block enforcement of the law is on appeal to the Supreme Court.
>    China, Singapore, Australia, France, Britain and other countries are
>debating or enacting curbs on Internet content, and several U.S. states are
>considering or already have regulated online material.
>    The ACLU lawsuit also targets a portion of the Georgia law that  the
>group contends prohibits online use of trademarked material without
>permission. The law went into effect July 1.
>    That could threaten the use of protected materials such as corporate
>logos as links on the World Wide Web, a practice that is now routine, said
>EFGA executive director Robert Costner. On EFGA's page, for example,
>selecting the BellSouth logo takes the viewer to BellSouth's Web page.
>    But the law's author, Rep. Don Parsons (R-Marietta), called that
>argument preposterous.
>    "It's just common sense. A link is not an attempt to make a  visitor
>believe your Web page is someone else's, which is what the law is meant to
>prevent," Parsons said.
>    Kaye, whose use of the Georgia State Seal on his home page angered some
>legislators, said he joined the suit to promote open, accessible government.
>    Kaye said the law has "given Georgia a black eye, sending a message to
>the world that we do not understand and are inhospitable to technology."
>    Parsons said he's been unfairly characterized as an Internet know-nothing.
>    "I'm an advocate for the Internet's possibilities. To reach its full
>potential, users must have real confidence that the sites they visit are
>credible, that they are who they say they are. That's all the bill was
>supposed to do."
>    One of the challengers, Avondale Web page designer Bonnie Nadri, said
>she already has removed some links from her pages, including the logos of
>Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Netscape Communications, because of the law.
>    The challengers say the wording of the law appears to prohibit
>anonymity. Eric Van Pelt, president of the gay support group Atlanta
>Veterans Alliance, said his organization joined the suit to shield the
>identity of
>two gay, active-duty military members of the AVA and to protect their
>compliance with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.
>    "We made them take an oath of confidentiality to join AVA; we don't want
>to expose them to criminal charges just for sending e-mail," said Van Pelt.
>    RealAudio playback of Tuesday's press conference and the full text of
>the lawsuit are available from EFGA.