WEB4LIB digest 573

[Shaken Angel]

On Fri, 28 Mar 1997 pourel at iastate.edu wrote:

> Has anyone considered that as a long-term issue  Internet censorship could
> be a non-issue?

I think this *should* be a non-issue.  As Americans (those of us under the
spectre of the CDA), we should be aghast and disgusted at this attempt to
curtail freedom of expression, even if it's for something that most of us
find distasteful.  However, as the brouhaha over the CDA has led me to
believe, as the years-old harassment of Phil Zimmerman (creator of the PGP
public encryption standard) by the Feds, and probably other things that
don't spring immediately to mind right at this moment, if we just sit here
and say, oh, who cares, this shouldn't be an issue, it will be easy as pie
for "The Enemy" to step in and slowly tighten the screws.  "Well, this is
a non-issue, so what do you care if we block so-and-so and such-and-such." 
and it will be difficult to refute that if we have already been marked as
apathetic. 

If the CDA and like-minded legislation pass, there will be escalation of
legislation.  It won't stop at porn.  Or rather, the definition of what is
"pornography" or "indecent" will be expanded drastically.

I hate to sound like a rabble-rouser, but freedom is at stake, people.
Declaring it a "non-issue" merely makes it easier for those who would
take your freedom away from you to *do* so.

- john f, miami university library systems

All of this is my opinion and should not be viewed as an endorsement of
Miami University or MU Libraries of my particular point of view.