IP reply to Letter from Simon Wiesenthal Center by Earthlink

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

Date: Mon, 15 Jan 1996 15:30:17 -0900
To: farber () central cis upenn edu
From: sky () earthlink net (Sky Dayton)
Subject: Letter from Simon Wiesenthal Center to Internet access companies


Dave,


Below is a letter sent to me by Rabbit Abraham Cooper of the Simon
Wiesenthal Center last week. Apparently, it was sent to a number of
Internet access companies. It created a lot of news coverage in this area.
Because we are based in Southern California, we were interviewed by two
news programs, including Fox and KCOP, for a response from the Internet
access community.


Here is the letter and our response.


Sky




[ the letter to Rabbi Cooper was sent in a previous IP note djf]






The following was my response to Rabbi Cooper:






Rabbi Abraham Cooper
Simon Wiesenthal Center
9760 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA  90035-4792


Dear Rabbi Cooper:


Thank you for your letter of January 9th. I though I would take the
opportunity to respond to your concerns directly.


EarthLink Network views the Internet as an incredible new communications
medium, with the potential of creating a global community in a way never
before seen. Through a heightened interaction among peoples, we hope the
Internet will help to help break down geographic, economic, political,
religious and other barriers. On the Internet, there is no "people over
there". On the Internet, everyone is right here.


The Internet today reflects our society in every way. All ends of the
spectrum utilize it to communicate their message. Thus, it's no surprise to
find hate groups on the Internet. The Internet is a perfect reflection of
information available in the analog world.


While we personally abhor discrimination and bigotry based on sex, race,
creed or any other reason, we will not censor communications sent through
our network. Our subscriber agreement requires legal use, but our policing
stops there.


As a principle, Internet access companies are not concerned with the
qualities of content that travel over their networks. We are "common
carriers" of information. Content providers such as America Online and
Compuserve are a different story. They manufacture and control information.
We merely route information, in the form of bits, to people who use our
service.


Online services are analogous to newspapers and magazines. Internet access
companies are analogous to postal services and phone companies.


For as long as we provide access, EarthLink Network will work to ensure the
legal and free use of the Internet. I urge you to take part in this
activism. But I caution you that the Internet will reject any form of
censorship. Rather than try to enforce a code as you propose, I suggest you
let the Internet community make its own judgment about content. You may be
surprised at what you find.


Sincerely,




Sky Dayton
CEO & Chairman



--
Sky Dayton, CEO                       |  Voice: 213-644-9500
EarthLink Network, Inc.               |  Fax:   213-644-9510
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http://www.earthlink.net              |  Los Angeles, CA 90039