Date: 5 May 93 03:01:43 CDT From: Jim Thomas Subject: Intro to CPSR/EFF Electronic "Hate-Crimes" Inquiry Responses Introduction to the CPSR and EFF letters responding to electronic "hate crimes" inquiry A quarter century ago, when hitch-hiking across the country between the coasts a few times a year, I would stop at a tiny hamlet in Wyoming (pop: about 90, plus a few dogs and cows) about 90 miles from nowhere. A small cafe with great hamburgers and a friendly bar (with even better hamburgers), and maybe sleeping out under the stars if I wasn't in a hurry. "Common courtesy" rather than laws and police enforcement ruled, and even the occasional stranger was treated like family. That was the decade of the sixties. Increased responsibilities and a change in life-style curtailed my road-bumming in the seventies and 10 years passed before I drove through that small community again. During that time, nearby Interstate 80 had been completed, making the town more accessible, and oil was discovered nearby, turning a tiny community in which everybody knew each and respected the rights of others, into a chaotic mini-city of thousands of newcomers. An expanded and professional police force enforced new laws passed to address the perceived social offenses caused by the population explosion of mostly young folk attracted to the oil boom and accompanying enterprises. A formal local government was created, and it made laws, regulated activitity, and attempted to accommodate the community to the changes brought by accessibility, prosperity, and expanding population. In some ways, the Electronic Community is like that small Wyoming town. The Internet and its peripheral locales, public access systems, and BBSes continue to grow as more newcomers enter cyberspace to settle or simply to visit. The proportion of cyberbozos to decent, Gopod-respecting citizens is quite small, but the expanding population means that we reach a critical mass despite the small percentage. A "jerk-ratio" of only half-percentage point in a population of 10,000 produces only 50 of 'em, which is fairly easily tolerated. The same proportion in a population of 10 million dramatically increases their visibility and influence. Most of the time, bozos are simply nuisances who are quick to flame with extreme invective or who simply attempt to articulate barely coherent but rather wild ideas or opinions. However, sometimes they use electronic media to harass others, to promote particularly distasteful ideas (such as anti-semitism or white supremacy), or to engage in what some consider "obscene" communication of a sexually explicit nature. Like that small Wyoming town, an increase in population subverts informal methods of encouraging common decency, and also challenges conventional prevalent notions of what constitutes "decency." One person's hate-group may be another person's noble band of freedom fighters. Although most people would probably agree that "hate-groups" in particular engage in the expression of unpalatable and distasteful ideas, there is no consensus about what should be done, especially in on-line situations. Should certain types of speech be restricted by university or sysop policies? Should government enact legislation to reduce certain types of noxious, but currently legal, expressions? Should a BBS that advocates "lynch the niggers, gas the kikes" be subject to laws curtailing the use of certain words or ideas? Should BBSes or ftp sites be prohibited by law or policy from making accessible the literature of Thunder, the Bloody Afterbirth writings, anarchist g-files, or adult gifs perceived by anti-porn advocates as "violence against women?" Cyberspace is like that small Wyoming town in several ways. First, there is really no great increase in the proportion of anti-social behavior; the dramatic and rapid increase in the population simply makes them more visible. Second, the tendency toward quick fixes through repression--the "tough town marshall" syndrome--seems an acceptable tradeoff to those willing to sacrifice a few rights for a calm social order. Third, when informal means of encouraging courtesy break down, it takes a while before alternative means replace them. Finally, as a historical point, expansion of a territory is often accompanied by chaos, and noxious expressions can be seen as simply a normal phase in the growth of the cyber community. We live in a period in which freedom of expression is under attack by diverse groups on all sides of the political spectrum. "Speech codes" at universities, "hate-speech/hate-crime" laws enacted in well-meaning but ill-considered ways, and pressures from both the left and right to curtail noxious expressions all threaten fundamental First Amendment principles. So, it's with considerable concern that we note the inquiry into "hate crimes" in electronic media begun by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Despite a few organizations such as CPSR and EFF, there is no well-organized constituency for electronic freedoms that compares to the conventional social world. As a consequence, there seems a greater danger of government restrictions through legislation or policy on freedom of expression in cyberspace. Both CPSR and the EFF have responded to the NTIA's call for comments with strong letters in support of freedom of expression. CuD moderators agree absolutely and unequivocally that First Amendment protections should be protected--in fact, strengthened--in cyberspace. Any attempts to curtail freedom of expression in electronic media affect BBSes, net-surfers, and others, and should be an issue of concern to us all. We comment CPSR and the EFF for their responses, and re-affirm our own view that freedom of expression is a fundamental and inalienable right, and not one to be restricted simply because some moral entrepreneurs find the speech of others to be distasteful. Downloaded From P-80 International Information Systems 304-744-2253