ALERT: KEEP FREE AND OPEN SPEECH ON NET [ as you can see I have an opinion on this .. djf]

[David Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

Date: Wed, 11 May 1994 13:38:30 -0400 (EDT)
From: Meeks Defense Fund <fund () idi net>




 Dear Net Citizen:


 How do you put a price on free and open dialogue on the Net?


 How much are you willing to spend to preserve the concept of roboust
 and open debate that have become a part of the Internet's culture?
 $100? $50?  $20?


 What if the cost of helping to preserve an open and robust Net was
 no more than $1.29?  That's right, less than the cost of a fast
 food hamburger.  Freedom on the Internet for only $1.29... cheap
 at twice the price.


 A joke?  Hardly.  The free and open speech, indeed the First Amendment
 rights of the Internet -- rights we've all enjoyed for decades -- are now
 being challenged in court.


 CyberWire Dispatch, the well-respected online newswire written and
 developed for the Internet community by journalist Brock Meeks, is
 the subject of a libel suit.  CyberWire Dispatch has been at the
 forefront of bringing the Net community timely and insightful
 articles.


 This suit was highlighted in a _Wall St. Journal_ article (April
 22, page B1).  The subject of a Dispatch investigation is suing
 Meeks for simply doing what journalists in the traditional print
 medium have done since the founding of newspapers:  Print the
 facts and let the public decide the outcome.


 Brock and the Cyperwire Dispatch are examples of the "bottom up"
 journalism that charachterizes the Net, where anyone with a modem can
 compete with the traditional press.  Of course, most of us don't come
 to the Net with a lawyer in tow, or the resources to defend a legal
 action taken against us in courts located hundreds of miles from our
 homes.


 This libel action is one of the earliest cases of libel involving
 alleged defamatory statements published over a computer network.
 It raises the extremely important legal and policy issues.  It's impact
 may well determine how and to what extent anyone feels free to express
 strong opinions on the Net, wihtout being put at risk of legal action.




 It is crucial that Brock have a strong defense and that the principles
 that  come out of this case provide the maximum protection to the
 exercise of free and open speech as possible.


 CyberWire Dispatch is unique because it's distributed solely in
 electronic form.  A service for the Net community at large.  And
 all CyberWire Dispatch articles are free.  Meeks neither charges
 anyone for receiving them;  he gets paid nothing to write them.


 For all these efforts, he's being sued.  And being sued by a
 company with a large financial backing.  Meeks, on the other hand,
 has no such resources.  His attorney, Bruce Sanford of Baker &
 Hostetler is arguably the finest First Amendment lawyer in the
 U.S.


 And although he has agreed to represent Meeks at a reduced rate,
 the cost of defending against this unmerited suit will not be
 cheap.


 We have formed this committee to lend our support in helping him
 raise money for his legal defense.  And all we're asking you to
 send is $1.29.  That's it.  Why that price?  The math is easy: $1
 in an envelope with a 29 cent stamp applied.


 Who can't afford $1.29 to help save the great freedoms we all
 enjoy here today?


 Can you send more?  Of course.  Any contributions will be
 welcomed and accepted.  Tax deductible donations also are
 possible by following the instructions below.


 All money sent for Meeks' legal defense fund will be go to that
 purpose.  All the administrative services for administering the
 fund are being donated;  100% of your money goes to defer the
 legal costs of this case.


 You are encouraged to repost this message.  But please, we urge
 you to keep proper Net protocol in mind when reposting or cross
 posting this message.


 Thanks for your time.  On behalf of Brock and for future
 generations of electronic journalists, we appreciate your
 contributions and support.


 Sincerely,




 Samuel A. Simon
 President, Issue Dynmics, Inc.*
 ssimon () idi net


 Mitch Kapor
 Chair, Electronic Frontier Foundation*
 Kapor () eff org


 David Farber
 The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunications Systems
 University of Pennsylvania*
 farber () central cis upenn edu


 Philip Elmer-DeWitt
 Senior Writer
 TIME Magazine*
 ped () panix com


 Marc Rotenberg
 Electronic Infomation Privacy Center*
 epic () cpsr org


 Nicholas Johnson
 Former FCC Commissoner*
 103-5393 () mcimail com


 Jerry Berman
 Electronic Frontier Foundation*
 jbeman () eff org


 Mike Godwin
 Electronic Frontier Foundation*
 mnemonic () eff org


 *AFFILIATION IS FOR INDENTIFICATION PURPOSE ONLY


  For Tax Deductible Donations:


 Make Checks out to "Point Foundation" and clearly annotate on the check:
  "For Legal Defense Fund."


  Send those checks to:


  Meeks Defense Fund
  c/o Point Foundation
  27 Gate Five Road
  Sausalito, CA 94965


 For those who don't care about the tax deductible status, send
  contributions to:


 Meeks Defense Fund


 c/o IDI
 901 15th St. NW
 Suite 230
 Washington, DC 20005


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#      Meeks Defense Fund       |   Internet:   fund () idi net       #
# ---------------------------------------------------------------- #
#  c/o  IDI                     c/o Point Foundation               #
#  901 15th St. NW              27 Gate Five Road                  #
#  Suite 230                    Sausalito, CA  9465                #
#  Washington, DC  20005                                           #
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Samuel A. Simon
IDI (Issue Dynamics Inc)        |   Internet:   ssimon () idi net
901 15th St. NW Suite 230
Washington, DC 20005
(202)408-1400 (v/tdd)
(202)408-1134 (fax)
(202)408-1163 (BBS)
------------------------------------------------------------------------