x1@oxy.edu (Rodney J. Hoffman) (03/05/91)
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
PUBLIC POLICY ROUNDTABLE
"Civil Liberties and the Electronic Frontier: Mapping the Terrain"
February 21-22, 1991
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
2400 N Street, NW
Washington, DC
Sponsored by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Thursday, February 21
Keynote address
Free Speech in the Age of Electronic Networks
Senator Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman
Senate Judiciary Committee,
Subcommittee on Technology and the Law
An overview of the importance of free speech protections and how First
Amendment principles might be applied to computer networks and computer
communications.
Panel Discussion
Filtering Digital Speech: The Role of Network Intermediaries
Moderator: David Bellin, Pratt Institute
Panelists: Jerry Berman, American Civil Liberties Union
Charles Brownstein, National Science Foundation
Mike Nelson, Senate Science Committee
George Perry, Prodigy Services
John Quarterman, The Matrix
Digitial speech moves from sender to recipient through individuals and
institutions. BBS SYSOPs, net administrators, conference hosts, universities,
private companies, even the federal government all facilitate the dissemination
of messages that they themselves did not create.
* What are the responsibilities of these "network
intermediaries" to filter digital speech? Is such message
filtering editing or censorship?
* How would a legal duty to review the contents of message
traffic affect the practices of network intermediaries? What
would be the consequences for technological development, such
as "store and forward" networks?
* How do common carrier principles apply to electronic
networks? What are the differences between common
carriers, publishers, republishers, and other service
providers? Who are the common carriers? Who are the
publishers?
Panel Discussion
"Electronic Speech": What Does It Mean and Where Is It Heading?
Moderator: John Podesta, American Newspaper Publishers Association
Panelists: Ken Allen, Information Industry Association
Lisa Carlson, Metasystems
Donna Demac, New York University
Mitch Kapor, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Tom Sherman, Words and Pictures
Broad-band communications are rapidly changing the character of network speech.
Audio messages, video messages, and multi-media messages will soon be exchanged
through data networks now generally limited to text-based communications.
* To what extent do changes in communications technology
alter the public policy framework? Do "First Principles" help
focus development goals?
* What will the publications of the next century look like?
Who will be the publishers?
* What impact will these changes have on network policy?
Does the character of the message change the roles of
publisher, the network intermediary, or the government?
Panel Discussion
Network Communities: Virtual Spaces, Public Forums, and Town Meetings
Moderator: Dorothy Denning, Digital Equipment Corporation
Panelists: George Baldwin, Arkansas University
Frank Burns, Metasystems
Cliff Figalo, The Well
Steve Jackson, Steve Jackson Games
Katie Hafner, Breaking In
Bruce Sterling, Schismatrix
Electronic communications promote the development of new communities. This
increased information exchange between geographically disparate individuals
raises new questions about the importance of social assembly.
* What is the character of these "electronic communities"?
How does the electronic environment change our understanding
of political participation, group formation, and democratic
governance?
* Do the hosts or sponsors of these virtual meeting places have
a responsibility to oversee the conduct of the participants?
Are new laws necessary for electronic communities?
* How should the First Amendment operate, if at all, in a
network community?
Panel Discussion
The Prodigy Case
Moderator: Tony Mauro, USA Today
Panelists: Will Miller, American Civil Liberties Union
Henry Niman, University of Pittsburgh
Jim Parker, Advanced Network and Services
Sam Simon, Issues Dynamics Inc.
Sandy Weiss, Prodigy Services
When Prodigy proposed a hike in the cost of electronic mail services, a group
of subscribers organized a protest, using first Prodigy's public bulletin board
and then the private electronic mail service.
* What are the differences between a public forum and a
private forum? Is a service such as Prodigy more like a
shopping center or a newspaper editorial page?
* Should network intermediaries protect the rights of service
users even when it may be against their own interests? Are
there clear legal obligations? Should there be?
Role Playing
Message Filtering: Editing or Censorship?
Moderator: Richard Civille, CPSR
Groups: BBS Management
Federal agency
Newspaper editorial board
Private mail service
University administrator
The participants will be divided into five groups. Each group will be given a
packet containing several different messages (pornographic, libelous, racially
offensive, critical of the message carrier, suicide notes, bomb threat,
commercial offer, and anarchist). Each group will meet to discuss how it will
handle each message. The groups reassemble, a large matrix is set-up, and each
group reports on how it handled each message and why. Each group should also
suggest a brief list of principles for filtering electronic messages. The
other groups are then free to respond and criticize the policies.
Friday, February 22
Panel Discussion
Privacy Protection for Network Communications
Moderator: Rick Weingarten, CRA
Panelists: Mike Cavanaugh, Electronic Mail Association
Dave Farber, Internet Advisory Board
Admiral Noel Gaylor, National Security Agency (formerly)
Eli Noam, Columbia University
In 1986 Congress updated the federal wiretap law to protect the privacy of
computer communications. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act is the most
far-reaching effort by Congress to bring legislation in line with rapidly
evolving communications technologies, yet questions remain about the scope and
application of the law.
* How well does this law apply to current network
communications? Are there gaps that result from new
communications technologies?
* What policies are appropriate for the privacy of electronic
communications? When should electronic mail be intercepted?
Are proposed policies for the NREN adequate and do they
conform with the ECPA?
* Should there be a distinction between the protection of
message content and the protection of message records? How
should transactional data generated by electronic
communications be handled?
Panel Discussion
Walking the Beat in the Global Village
Moderator: Jim Dempsey, House Judiciary Committee
Panelists: Al Bayse, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Mike Godwin, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Steve Levy, Hackers
Charles McClure, Syracuse University
Sheldon Zenner, Katten, Muchin, Zabis
Computer crime investigations raise unique problems for law enforcement agents,
prosecutors, attorneys, and computer users. Evidence of computer crime may be
more easily concealed than other types of crime. Data is easily encrypted.
Files can be readily copied and just as readily destroyed. At the same time,
searches of computer systems are often broader than searches of physical
spaces. Much of the information that can be easily obtained may be unrelated
to a particular investigation.
* How do we "police" computer communities?
* How can the Fourth Amendment principles of "minimization"
and "particularity" be applied to computer systems? What
safeguards are necessary to avoid overly broad searches?
Panel Discussion
Applying Civil Liberties Principles to New Settings -
Case Study: The Privacy Protection Act of 1980
Moderator: Dave Johnson, Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
Panelists: Janlori Goldman, American Civil Liberties Union
John Nagle, Autodesk
Harold Relyea, Congressional Research Service
Bruce Sanford, Society of Professional Journalists
Steve Wolff, National Science Foundation
A law passed in 1980 created heightened privacy rights for searches of news
rooms. The law recognized special First Amendment interests in the records of
reprinters. Today newsrooms are increasingly electronic and the distinction
between the printing press and the filing cabinet is collapsing.
* How should the principles adopted in the 1980 law be applied
in the coming years? Is the Privacy Act still "good law"?
* What is the significance of network publishing and protected
First Amendment interests for the conduct of computer crime
investigations? Does the Privacy Act apply to all network
publishing?
Panel Discussion
From Trespass to Conduct - The Evolution of Computer Crime Law
Panelists: Sharon Beckman, Electronic Frontier Foundation
Don Goldberg, House Judiciary Committee
Tom Guidoboni, Bonner & O'Connell
Lance Hoffman, George Washington University
Craig Neidorf, Phrack
Craig Schiffries, Senate Judiciary Committee
The federal government and many states are reevaluating their computer crime
laws to determine whether they are well designed. Computer crime laws were
generally based on the concept of trespass. However, the trespass concept
applies less well to some recent acts that might be described as "reckless" or
where the intent of the actor is a significant consideration.
* What is the status of computer crime legislation in
Congress? What approach did Massachusetts take? What
issues will be before Congress this session?
* What are the limitations of the trespass concept? What
criminal justice purposes does trespass serve? How could a
conduct-based offense be tailored to computer communities
and network communications? What are the implications for
law enforcement, for computer users, and for network
administrators?
* On the electronic frontier what acts should be unlawful?
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