6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 11Technical architecturesThe Net increases complexity of technical systems and creates interactions with unintended consequences and technical challenges2Social/Policy architecturesThe Net increases complexity of social systems and creates interactions with unintended consequences and policychallenges3Regulating speechThe Net increases complexity of social systems and creates interactions with unintended consequences and policychallengessourcesourcethe internetthe internet““cloudcloud””destinationdestinationinternetinternetserviceserviceprovidersprovidersinternet service providersinternet service providersregulation6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 25Regulating speech on the internetThe Net increases complexity of social systems and creates interactions with unintended consequences and policychallenges6Regulating speech on the internetThe Net increases complexity of social systems and creates interactions with unintended consequences and policychallengesFreedom of Speech7g{x Y|Üáà TÅxÇwÅxÇà Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.8University of Michigan, 1989 Under penalty of sanctions, members of the university community may not stigmatize or victimize individuals or groups on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, creed, national origin, ancestry, age, marital status, or handicap.6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 39Doe v. University of Michigan While the Court is sympathetic to the University's obligation to ensure equal educational opportunities for all of its students, such efforts must not be at the expense of free speech. -- US District Judge Avern Cohn, Sept. 22, 198910Miller TestLegal definition of obscenity• Whether the work depicts/describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable state law,and• Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest,and• Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious scientific, literary, artistic, or political value. US Supreme Court, Miller v. California (1973)The nastiest place on earthFebruary, 1994July 3, 19956.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 4The market leader among "adult" BBS, Amateur Action BBS,…83.5% of all images posted on the Usenet are pornographic. Georgetown Law Journal, June 199514Communications Decency Act (Feb. 1996)“Display provision” Whoever ... (1) in interstate or foreign communications knowingly ... uses any interactive computer service to display in a manner available to a person under 18 years of age, any comment, request, suggestion, proposal, image, or other communication that, in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs, regardless of whether the user of such service placed the call or initiated the communication; or... 15Communications Decency Act (Feb. 1996)“Display provision” (2) knowingly permits any telecommunications facility under such person's control to be used for an activity prohibited by paragraph (1) ... shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. sourcesourceinternet service providersinternet service providersthe cloudthe cloudinternetinternetserviceserviceprovidersprovidersdestinationdestinationregulation?6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 517Communications Decency Act (Feb. 1996)• Policy: It is the policy of the United States to … remove disincentives for the development and utilization of blocking and filtering technologies that empower parents to restrict their children's access to objectionable or inappropriate online material…1819Communications Decency Act (Feb. 1996)• Protection for `Good Samaritan' Blocking and Screening of Offensive Material: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider. 20DefamationStatement that is 1. False2. Communicated to a 3rdparty3. Causes damage• Slander = oral• Libel = written6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 621Cubby v. Compuserve (1991) “…CompuServe, as a news distributor, may not be held liable if it neither knew nor had reason to know of the allegedly defamatory Rumorville statements …”sourcesourceinternet service providersinternet service providersthe cloudthe cloudinternetinternetserviceserviceprovidersprovidersdestinationdestinationregulation23Stratton-Oakmont v. Prodigy (1995) PRODIGY has uniquely arrogated to itself the role of determining what is proper for its members to post and read on its bulletin boards. Based on the forgoing, this Court is compelled to conclude that for the purposes of plaintiffs' claims in this action, PRODIGY is a publisher rather than a distributor. - New York State Supreme Court24Reno v ACLU (1997) In order to deny minors access to potentially harmful speech, the CDA effectively suppresses a large amount of speech that adults have a constitutional right to receive and to address to one another. Moreover, the "community standards" criterion as applied to the Internet means that any communication available to a nation wide audience will be judged by the standards of the community most likely to be offended by the message. - US Supreme Court6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 725ACLU v Reno (1996) … the Internet may fairly be regarded as a never-ending worldwide conversation. The Government may not, through the CDA, interrupt that conversation. As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from governmental intrusion. -- US District Judge Stewart DalzellCall KenApril, 199528Communications Decency Act (Feb. 1996)• Protection for `Good Samaritan' Blocking and Screening of Offensive Material: No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider.6.033 Lecture - May 15 - Hal Abelson 829Communications Decency Act• Enacted in 1996• Display provision– Struck
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