Of course, this is an interesting legal question. Clearly, offering raw Usenet content the ISP doesn't originate absolutely shields the ISP from responsibility for the material, under current telecommunications law.
The unanswered legal question is whether processing the raw news feed in some way, such as would be needed to provide web access to decoded pictures, also enjoys the same protection.
It would seem that automatic transcoding of Usenet, in a way which is not content sensitive, should not be considered the origination of new content. On the other hand, the Feds are hardly going to sit still for a URL which, when clicked upon, fills ones browser screen with hundreds of thumbnails of blond pre-teen Scandinavian boys in mid-orgasm, with a legend which reads - "Click on thumbnail to get full-sized picture." And all for only $6 a month.
Despite the sometimes controversial contents of Usenet feeds it is unlikely that the Feds will move to put the kabosh on Usenet. Services, like Etermity, which merely act as reference engines to simplify Usenet access are also unlikely to be targeted. Even services which refresh existing Usenet feeds to provide persistence may be off-limits, especially if the articles are encrypted, the service does not possess the key and it is the client browsers which decrypt and handle the cleartext. The Feds are undoubtedly honing their skills at traffic analysis for locating posters and email correspondants of interest. It is the cypherpunk role to provide the means to keep the Fed nose from coming under the privacy tent. --Steve PGP mail preferred, see http://www.pgp.com and http://web.mit.edu/network/pgp.html RSA PGP Fingerprint: FE 90 1A 95 9D EA 8D 61 81 2E CC A9 A4 4A FB A9 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Schear (N7ZEZ) | Internet: azur@netcom.com 7075 West Gowan Road | Voice: 1-702-658-2654 Suite 2148 | Fax: 1-702-658-2673 Las Vegas, NV 89129 | economic and crypto dissident --------------------------------------------------------------------- The push by western governments for financial transparency and banning unrestricted use of cryptography is blatent politicial tyranny. Free Cypherpunk Political Prisoner Jim Bell