Roy M. Silvernail wrote: (quoting Duncan Frissell)
A BBS is a publication. The 1st Amendment was specifically written to outlaw the British licensing of publications. No risk.
Until some case law comes about that recognizes this, It Just Ain't So. Right now, electronic publishing isn't recognized by the courts as publishing (because we don't kill trees, I suppose).
Not so. Writers who use computers, journalists who write directly to electronic distribution, etc., are just as protected against censorship or prior restraint as paper-oriented journalists are. Any law which required, for example, writers like us to submit their writings to some government censorship agency would of course be struck down immediately. (Note: "Wartime" situations may be different, which is why I fear the term "War" in "War on Drugs," "War on Money Launderers," and "War on Barny Bashers.") --Tim May -- .......................................................................... Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money, tcmay@netcom.com | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero 408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets, W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments. Higher Power: 2^859433 | Public Key: PGP and MailSafe available. "National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."