IP: Sen. Kyl's views on how the Feds should yank Net access

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

> Pretty soon the freedom of speach will vanish along with the rest of our 
> freedoms


Dave

> Date: Fri, 03 Dec 1999 15:12:11 -0500
> To: politech () vorlon mit edu
> From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
>
>
> Here's info on a Freedom Forum media and violence debate next week (the
> person taking the pro-free speech side is a longtime politechnical):
>   http://www.freedomforum.org/first/1999/12/9ombudevent.asp
>
>
> > From: MerrittDC () aol com
> > Date: Thu, 2 Dec 1999 08:04:32 EST
> > Subject: Govt-Mandated Suspension of Internet Access
> > To: declan () well com
> >
> >
> > Declan --
> >
> > My name is David Safavian. We met yesterday at the CSE event.
> >
> > Per our discussion, I have jotted down the language of the Kyl bill that
> > treats internet access as a government granted privilege (which can be
> > suspended by the government at will), rather than the civil right of the 
> new
> > century.  Specifically, Page 21, Line 8 of S. 692 states:
> >
> > [US courts shall have the authority, upon petition from qualified law
> > enforcement agencies to issue:]
> >
> > "(I) an order restraining the provider from
> > providing access to an identified subscriber
> > of the sustem or netowrk  of the interactive
> > computer services provider, if the court
> > determines that there is probable cause to
> > believe that such subscriber is using that
> > access to violate [the gambling prohibition]
> > . . . , by terminating the specific account of
> > the subscriber."
> >
> >
> > This seems to pose at least two significant problems:
> >
> > (1) A state attorney general could seek to turn off my internet access not
> > with a successful prosecution (proof beyond a reasonable doubt), but 
> instead
> > with a lesser showing merely of "probable cause."
> >
> > (2) Will this set the precedent for other politically incorrect 
> activities?
> > What happens if Matt Drudge is sued for slander?  Will this lead to the
> > government utilizing internet access as a carrot (or loss of net access 
> as a
> > stick) to modify behavior?
> >
> > Regardless of one's views of gambling, this seems to have been 
> overlooked by
> > most technology commentators.  Equally disturbing is the fact that many 
> ISPs
> > are complicit by negotiating these terms with Senator Kyl.  They seem to
> have
> > put their interests above those of their subscribers.
> >
> > Any thoughts?
> >
> > David Safavian
>
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
> POLITECH -- the moderated mailing list of politics and technology
> To subscribe: send a message to majordomo () vorlon mit edu with this text:
> subscribe politech
> More information is at http://www.well.com/~declan/politech/
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------