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IP: [with editor comment djf]CDT Policy Post 3.10 - President
From: David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
Date: Wed, 16 Jul 1997 19:15:26 -0400
The following is an slightly edited (reduce boiler plate this time) view of the CDT postilion on the WH initiative. You have now seen most sides of the initial argument. Form your own opinion and do let me know what you think. My worry is that "voluntary" censoring will expand to ratings which end up family, Christian, adults, republicans , good news etc etc and eventually will end up with communities banning certain categories of access under the community standards flag. Tell me it will not happen!!! Dave ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- _____ _____ _______ / ____| __ \__ __| ____ ___ ____ __ | | | | | | | | / __ \____ / (_)______ __ / __ \____ _____/ /_ | | | | | | | | / /_/ / __ \/ / / ___/ / / / / /_/ / __ \/ ___/ __/ | |____| |__| | | | / ____/ /_/ / / / /__/ /_/ / / ____/ /_/ (__ ) /_ \_____|_____/ |_| /_/ \____/_/_/\___/\__, / /_/ \____/____/\__/ The Center for Democracy and Technology /____/ Volume 3, Number 10 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A briefing on public policy issues affecting civil liberties online ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ..... - (1) PRESIDENT ENDORSES USER EMPOWERMENT APPROACH FOR INTERNET CONTENT In a meeting with public interest advocates and industry representatives today, President Clinton and Vice President Gore said that user control, as opposed to CDA-style content regulations, is the best way to help parents prevent their kids from accessing inappropriate material on the Internet. The President, noting that the meeting showed "how to pave the way to a family friendly Internet without paving over the constitutional guarantees to free speech and free expression," also announced a continuing effort to educate the public about the availability of user empowerment technology. In conjunction with the White House event, the Center for Democracy and Technology and an ad hoc group of industry and consumer/public interest groups released a White Paper documenting the availability and effectiveness of user empowerment tools for the Internet. CDT and the Voters Telecommunications Watch also unveiled Netparents.org, a new web site designed to provide resources for Internet parents. (URL's Below) Among other things, the meeting highlighted the advantages of user empowerment over government content regulations: * USER EMPOWERMENT DOES NOT INFRINGE ON CONSTITUTIONAL FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: Adults have a constitutional right to speak and publish in some ways that are nevertheless considered inappropriate for children. Since parental empowerment tools limit that which is available to children at the receiving end, as opposed to what can be published by speakers, freedom of expression is preserved for adults while parents are able to shield their children from inappropriate material. * THIS IS NOT THE 'V-CHIP': The President did not call legislation or a single 'V-Chip' style Internet rating system or standard. Instead, he called on the industry and the Internet community to continue to develop products and services to assist parents, and stressed the importance of multiple, independent rating systems and choices for users. * USER EMPOWERMENT TOOLS ARE 100% AVAILABLE TODAY TO EVERY INTERNET CONNECTED HOUSEHOLD: Users and parents have a variety of effective, easy to use options available today to control their children's access to inappropriate material online based on their own family values. * USER EMPOWERMENT TOOLS ARE EASY-TO-USE AND EFFECTIVE: Blocking and filtering technologies are far more effective and far more flexible than any law. The tools are designed to be easy to use for parents who may not be as computer savvy as their kids. * PARENTS MUST PLAY A ROLE: Technology is only part of the solution to parents concerns. Parents must also learn how to use the available technology and impart their own values. CDT is pleased that the President and Vice President have endorsed the user empowerment approach and we look forward to working with the Administration, the computer and communications industries, public interest and family groups, Internet users, and Congress towards solutions which preserve the free flow of information and constitutional guarantees of free expression online, while at the same time assuring that concerned have access to the tools they need. Links: * A copy of the White Paper, along with other information, is available online at http://www.cdt.org/speech/ * Please also check out 'Resources for Internet Parents' at http://www.netparents.org/ ________________________________________________________________________ (2) A NOTE ABOUT "CENSORWARE" Some have already criticized the President for promoting what they call "censorware," and indirectly limiting First Amendment rights. CDT believes that this characterization fundamentally misunderstands the evil of government censorship. Censorship is when the government seeks to take control over what citizens can see, hear, say, and write. The use of blocking and filtering software, on the other hand, enables users to choose what material comes into their homes and what stays out. This choice is, and must remain, in the hands of individual parents based on their own tastes values. We do believe that the selection among different filtering products and services is an important choice which requires well-informed parents. It is vital that families using filtering software are aware of the criteria based on which information is excluded or included. We will continue to work to explore means of helping parents to make informed choices among the variety of products available. In the last two years, over ten different filtering software products have been developed, representing a broad diversity of values. And, as the PICS labeling platform becomes more widely deployed on web browsers, parents will be able to take advantage of the growing number of PICS-based rating services if they choose to do so. We believe that the underlying approach of user control is fully consistent with core First Amendment principles, including freedom of choice. At the same time, we must remain vigilant to ensure that PICS and other user-based solutions are developed and implemented in ways that protect the free flow of information online. ___________________________________________________________________________ (3) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION Be sure you are up to date on the latest public policy issues affecting civil liberties online and how they will affect you! Subscribe to the CDT Policy Post news distribution list. CDT Policy Posts, the regular news publication of the Center For Democracy and Technology, are received by more than 13,000 Internet users, industry leaders, policy makers and activists, and have become the leading source for information about critical free speech and privacy issues affecting the Internet and other interactive communications media. To subscribe to CDT's Policy Post list, send mail to policy-posts-request () cdt org with a subject: subscribe policy-posts If you ever wish to remove yourself from the list, send mail to the above address with a subject of: unsubscribe policy-posts ________________________________________________________________________ (4) ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY/CONTACTING US The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest organization based in Washington, DC. The Center's mission is to develop and advocate public policies that advance democratic values and constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications technologies. Contacting us: General information: info () cdt org World Wide Web: URL:http://www.cdt.org/ FTP URL:ftp://ftp.cdt.org/pub/cdt/ Snail Mail: The Center for Democracy and Technology 1634 Eye Street NW * Suite 1100 * Washington, DC 20006 (v) +1.202.637.9800 * (f) +1.202.637.0968 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- End Policy Post 3.10 07/16/97 -----------------------------------------------------------------------
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- IP: [with editor comment djf]CDT Policy Post 3.10 - President David Farber (Jul 16)