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IP: Court Orders DOJ to Halt CDA 'Reviews' Pending Outcome of
From: Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>
Date: Thu, 16 May 1996 18:10:42 -0400
----------------------------------------------------------------- _______ _ _ ____ _ _ _ _ |__ __| (_) | | | _ \ | | | | | (_) | |_ __ _ __ _| | | |_) |_ _| | | ___| |_ _ _ __ | | '__| |/ _` | | | _ <| | | | | |/ _ \ __| | '_ \ | | | | | (_| | | | |_) | |_| | | | __/ |_| | | | | |_|_| |_|\__,_|_| |____/ \__,_|_|_|\___|\__|_|_| |_| Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition Trial Update No. 12 Special Update -- May 16 1996 5:56 pm ET ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.cdt.org/ciec/ ciec-info () cdt org ----------------------------------------------------------------- CIEC UPDATES intended for members of the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition. CIEC Updates are written and edited by the Center for Democracy and Technology (http://www.cdt.org). This document may be reposted as long as it remains in total. ------------------------------------------------------------------ ** 40,000 Netizens Vs. U.S. Department of Justice. ** * The Fight To Save Free Speech Online * Contents: o Court Orders DOJ to Halt "Reviews" Under the CDA o Transcripts from All 6 days of Court Testimony Now Online o How To Unsubscribe from this list o More Information on CIEC and the Center for Democracy and Technology ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (1) Court Orders DOJ to Halt "Reviews" Under the CDA In response to a complaint filed last week by the CIEC, a Federal Judge in Philadelphia Wednesday ordered the Justice Department to stop all "reviews" of complaints under the Communications Decency Act until the three-judge panel rules on the constitutionality of the law. The order was issued by Judge Stewart Dalzell, one of the three judges presiding over the case. CIEC and ACLU attorneys filed the compliant after several national newspapers reported last week that the FBI had opened an investigation of Compuserve for violations of the CDA. The FBI has since denied that any investigation is or was underway, though the stories sparked a great deal of confusion and created a significant public relations problem for the commercial online service. In the order Judge Dalzell stated that "the government's conduct in subjecting a content provider to private and public scrutiny for displaying material that is neither obscene nor child pornography clearly runs afoul of both this Court's orders and the government's promises." Closing arguments in the case concluded on Friday May 10, and a final decision on the constitutionality of the CDA is expected soon. While Wednesday's ruling by Judge Dalzell provides little insight into which way the court will rule on the constitutionality of the CDA, the speed with which the order was issued does show that the court appreciates the tremendous free speech and commercial concerns riding on this case. The full text of the seven page order, tramscripts from Friday's oral arguments, and with other relevant information, is available at the Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition web page: http://www.cdt.org/ciec BACKGROUND ON THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/AFA FOLLIES After a Philadelphia federal judge granted a temporary restraining order against the CDA in February, the government agreed not to prosecute or investigate anyone for violations of the CDA until the court challenge had been completed. However, recent events have called the government's commitment to the February agreement into question. In early April, the conservative American Family Association (AFA) filed a complaint with the Justice Department accusing Compuserve of violating the CDA for material in a forum called MacGlamour, despite the fact that the site was labeled for adults only and Compuserve provides its users free software to block access to unwanted material. Last week in response to pressure from the AFA, acting Chief of the DOJ Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Terry Lord sent a letter to AFA director Patrick Truman indicating that the Department "has referred [the AFA] letter and accompanying materials to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for further review." The FBI denied it was investigating, which would have been a violation of the February court agreement, but said it was "reviewing" the AFA complaint. CIEC attorneys asked the court to clarify if such a "review" violated the government's promise not to investigate or prosecute under the CDA. In granting the motion for clarification, Judge Dalzell ordered Attorney General Reno, the Justice Department, and the FBI to stop all "reviews" of online indecency complaints pending a decision regarding the constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (2) Hearing Transcripts for All 6 Days of Testimony Now Online Transcripts for all 6 days of hearings, including last Friday's (5/10) closing arguments, are now available online at the CIEC web site: http://www.cdt.org/ciec
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