Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1998 11:00:00 -0700 From: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> To: Juergen Nickelsen <jnickelsen@acm.org> Cc: chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: This just in: Microsoft/Sears Merger Message-ID: <4.1.19981221105103.06cbe9b0@mail.lariat.org> In-Reply-To: <v03110701b2a3d0d3d9bb@[195.21.35.63]> References: <4.1.19981220234034.06bac090@mail.lariat.org> <199812210638.WAA51801@rah.star-gate.com> <Your message of "Sun, 20 Dec 1998 21:06:26 PST." <19981220210626.B6129@mooseriver.com>
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At 11:23 AM 12/21/98 +0100, Juergen Nickelsen wrote: >Hello Brett, > >Could you (re?)post that to -chat? After the Microsoft/Sears article I >am quite curious. (Or just mail it to me if you think the list should >not be bothered?) Here's a copy of the satirical "news item" regarding the EFF. This was put out on the Net in 1995, just after the EFF -- in a very foolish display of political ineptitude -- allowed CALEA (the FBI's pet wiretap law) -- to pass when it could have blocked it. The Communications Decency Act was then introduced, and I, for one, didn't trust the EFF not to sell the American people out again. Hence the prank posting. The posting had a number of tip-offs in the first paragraph, and was accompanied by a note instructing readers to read it ALL THE WAY THROUGH before responding. Yet, I STILL got angry flames. Here's the text, and -- remember -- it's ONLY A JOKE. ;-) --Brett --------------- **** Note: Be sure to read the following IN ITS ENTIRETY before responding. Republication and forwarding OK if attribution and full text are preserved. Washington, DC (UPI) April 1, 1995: In a remarkable turnabout, the Electronic Frontier Foundation reversed its stance on the Communications Decency Act of 1995 (S. 314), introduced by Senator James Exon (D-Purgatory) and Senator Slade Gorton (R- Perdition). This bill, now part of telecommunications reform legislation in the Senate, mandates criminal penalties for telecommunications providers or individuals who transmit material that is deemed "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent." "Now that the language of S. 314 has been woven into vital telecommunications legislation, it is unlikely that it can be defeated," said an EFF spokesman. "The EFF is therefore supporting an amendment to the bill allowing 'indecent' material to appear on computer networks only between the hours of 10 PM and 8 AM, a restriction similar to those imposed on network television stations. "We feel that this is a fair compromise between the interests of system operators and consumers and the desires of arch- conservative legislators," said the EFF. "Under this provision, operators of online services will have ten hours each night to read all electronic mail messages, as well as the megabytes of 'network news' on their systems, and expunge any material that any citizen anywhere in the United States might consider to be indecent. Funding will be provided for a computerized reporting system that will enable system operators to turn in those who generate illicit material, such as sexually suggestive love notes or messages advocating the use of condoms. Encrypted messages will be automatically deleted, since they might hide indecent content." The EFF backed a similar compromise last year when it lent crucial support to the Digital Telephony Bill. This bill, now the law of the land, requires that all telephone conversations be quickly and undetectably tappable at any time by law enforcement personnel. The EFF supported the wiretapping bill in return for a few token privacy provisions, which may be removed by future legislation. "This so-called compromise is reprehensible," said Brett Glass, nationally-known computer columnist and privacy advocate. "Let's hope that this article remains an April Fool's Day joke, and that the EFF -- which many fear has forgotten its roots as an advocate of electronic freedom and become an 'inside-the-beltway' lobbying organization -- doesn't compromise or endanger our civil rights and personal privacy this time around." <73> To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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