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Senator Kerry proposes Web censorship of dogfighting
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:42:35 -0400
Begin forwarded message: From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com> Date: July 20, 2007 5:17:02 PM EDT To: dave () farber net Cc: lauren () vortex com Subject: Senator Kerry proposes Web censorship of dogfighting Dave, I can't tell from this press release: http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=279464 whether Senator Kerry is really serious about: "... making it illegal to transmit images of dog fighting, [or] to run websites that cater to dog fighting ..." ... or whether this is some sort of posturing. But I find the concept expressed alarming nonetheless. Let me be clear. I'm as distressed as anyone else by the recent dogfighting stories. I hope that the law comes down fast and hard on anyone proven to have participated in such horrible acts. As someone in the process right now of raising a young, rambunctious puppy, the thought of what has been done to these dogs makes me feel physically ill. Nonetheless. when I start to see calls that amount to raising this particular evil seemingly to the Internet level of child pornography, it's impossible not to ring the "slippery slope" warning bell. There are innumerable horrors in the world, many of which are unfortunately even much worse than dogfighting. If politicians are going to start down the path of Internet censorship as the "solution" to such evils, we are in big, big trouble. Not only will such prohibitions simply push related Internet sites offshore or into encrypted underground channels, but the "censorship as solution" mindset that is created will be incredibly damaging to the Internet and society in the long run. I would hope that Senator Kerry is simply reacting emotionally to this very bad situation and has not fully thought out the ramifications of his proposal. Trying to restrict information almost never makes things better, and usually makes matters worse. There is no practical way to effectively censor the Internet. To even try is to do even more harm in a multitude of ways. --Lauren-- Lauren Weinstein lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 http://www.pfir.org/lauren Co-Founder, PFIR - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org Co-Founder, IOIC - International Open Internet Coalition - http://www.ioic.net Founder, CIFIP - California Initiative For Internet Privacy - http://www.cifip.org Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com ------------------------------------------- Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
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- Senator Kerry proposes Web censorship of dogfighting David Farber (Jul 21)