X-Sender: ewatkins@pop.ipst.edu Date: Wed, 20 Nov 1996 16:01:30 -0500 Reply-To: Electronic Frontiers Ga Action Mailing List <ACTION@efga.org> Sender: Electronic Frontiers Ga Action Mailing List <ACTION@efga.org> From: Eric James Watkins <eric.watkins@IPST.EDU> Subject: AJC [Atlanta Journal and Constitution] Front page Tuesday final edition To: ACTION@EFGA.ORG
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We made the front page!!! I don't have permission to distribute this. I consider it fair use, and I did suggest everyone buy a paper earlier. Note: The AJC does not archive these articles. ---------------------------------------- ACLU sues the state over its ban on some Internet communication
By Art Kramer STAFF WRITER
The ACLU filed suit against the state Tuesday, alleging that a Georgia law barring the use of pseudonyms and anonymous communication on the Internet is unconstitutional. In the first court challenge in an ongoing campaign against Internet-related laws in 13 states, the American Civil Liberties Union alleges that when Georgia passed the law affecting the Internet, it unconstitutionally encroached on the federal power to regulate interstate commerce. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta on behalf of Electronic Frontiers Georgia (EFGA), Rep. Mitchell Kaye (R-Marietta), and 12 other groups and individuals. "The right to speak and publish using a virtual 'nom de plume' has its roots in a long tradition dating back to the very founding of democracy in this country," said Ann Beeson, staff attorney for the ACLU. Beeson's use of the Constitution's "commerce clause," the first in an Internet-related case, could invalidate many state laws affecting the global computer network, said Trotter Hardy, a professor of law at William and Mary Law School in Williamsburg, Va. But Hardy said that approach could backfire by strengthening the case for federal regulation of the Internet, a result civil libertarians may come to regret. State Attorney General Michael Bowers said Tuesday he had not reviewed the case yet, but that his office typically pursues lawsuits against the state vigorously. He has 20 days to respond in court. The ACLU is among a coalition that in February challenged the federal Communications Decency Act, which bars online content deemed indecent or "patently offensive." A Philadelphia federal court's decision in June to block enforcement of the law is on appeal to the Supreme Court. China, Singapore, Australia, France, Britain and other countries are debating or enacting curbs on Internet content, and several U.S. states are considering or already have regulated online material. The ACLU lawsuit also targets a portion of the Georgia law that the group contends prohibits online use of trademarked material without permission. The law went into effect July 1. That could threaten the use of protected materials such as corporate logos as links on the World Wide Web, a practice that is now routine, said EFGA executive director Robert Costner. On EFGA's page, for example, selecting the BellSouth logo takes the viewer to BellSouth's Web page. But the law's author, Rep. Don Parsons (R-Marietta), called that argument preposterous. "It's just common sense. A link is not an attempt to make a visitor believe your Web page is someone else's, which is what the law is meant to prevent," Parsons said. Kaye, whose use of the Georgia State Seal on his home page angered some legislators, said he joined the suit to promote open, accessible government. Kaye said the law has "given Georgia a black eye, sending a message to the world that we do not understand and are inhospitable to technology." Parsons said he's been unfairly characterized as an Internet know-nothing. "I'm an advocate for the Internet's possibilities. To reach its full potential, users must have real confidence that the sites they visit are credible, that they are who they say they are. That's all the bill was supposed to do." One of the challengers, Avondale Web page designer Bonnie Nadri, said she already has removed some links from her pages, including the logos of Coca-Cola, Microsoft and Netscape Communications, because of the law. The challengers say the wording of the law appears to prohibit anonymity. Eric Van Pelt, president of the gay support group Atlanta Veterans Alliance, said his organization joined the suit to shield the identity of two gay, active-duty military members of the AVA and to protect their compliance with the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. "We made them take an oath of confidentiality to join AVA; we don't want to expose them to criminal charges just for sending e-mail," said Van Pelt. RealAudio playback of Tuesday's press conference and the full text of the lawsuit are available from EFGA.