http:--www.cnn.com-US-9711-24-cyberhate.web.site.ap-

[Jim Choate <ravage@ssz.com>]

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                   CIVIL RIGHTS WEB SITE TO FIGHT CYBERHATE
                                       
      CivilRights.org November 24, 1997
     Web posted at: 6:01 p.m. EST (2301 GMT)
     
     WASHINGTON (AP) -- Responding to President Clinton's call to fight
     hate crime, the nation's largest civil rights coalition and a
     regional Bell telephone company have created a Web site designed to
     combat Internet hate speech.
     
     The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights said Monday the site --
     www.civilrights.org -- was developed and will be maintained for two
     years with a $100,000 contribution from Bell Atlantic.
     
     Clinton issued a call two weeks ago at a White House Conference on
     Hate Crimes to find ways to fight the problem.
     
     "You are providing an antidote to cyberhate," he told the civil
     rights coalition in a letter read by Transportation Secretary Rodney
     Slater at a news conference on Monday.
     
     Wade Henderson, LCCR executive director, said the idea to create a
     Web site was triggered by a proliferation of Internet hate speech by
     groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and White Aryan Resistance.
     
     Bell Atlantic chairman Ray Smith cited a study by the
     Anti-Defamation League showing the number of hate sites on the
     Internet has doubled to 250 in the past year. He called the new site
     "an antidote for poison."
     
     The idea is to "counter the frightening espousal of hatred and
     violence against Americans because of their race, gender, religious
     or sexual orientation," he said.
     
     Henderson said hate groups have become more sophisticated in
     communicating their doctrines and recruiting. "Instead of the
     street, they recruit on the net," he explained.
     
     There is also concern for the First Amendment protection of free
     speech, Henderson said. "This Web site will respond to hate with
     information and competing ideas without seeking to restrict Internet
     speech."
     
     In addition to providing information on hate crimes around the
     country, the site will explain various strategies to address those
     crimes and offer materials for young people, parents and teachers to
     encourage diversity.
     
     Copyright 1997   The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
     material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
     redistributed.
     
    
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  Related stories:
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     * Denver seeks answers in apparent wave of hate crime - November 21,
       1997
     * Hate case raises Internet free speech issues - November 9, 1997
       
  Related sites:
  
     Note: Pages will open in a new browser window
     * CivilRights.org - Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
     * Bell Atlantic
     * American Communication Association WWW Archives
          + Freedom of Speech
          + Human Rights Issues
            
     
     
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