[comp.org.eff.talk] Year 1990: computer users rights and the popular press

sean@dranet.dra.com (12/31/90)

The year 1990 in review.  Here is a list of some of the articles that have 
appeared in the "popular" press in the last year.  There were some 800+
articles on computer crime, "hackers" (in the negative sense), and viruses.
For comparison there were about equal number of articles on those topics
in each of the preceeding four years.  However in the preceeding four years
I couldn't find a single article in 1300+ periodicals that mentioned
protecting rights of people who use computers.  Note the slight difference
from the rights of people in a computerized society (lots of articles on
privacy, computer (mis)matching, and various computer snafu's).

Perhaps the EFF should have hired a advertising firm before a lawyer? :-)

Actually for only six months it is a pretty impressive showing.

-------------

     1  High-tech witch-hunting vs. First Amendment. (Electronic Frontier
        Foundation protecting legal rights of computer users) (editorial), PC
        Week, Oct 8, 1990 v7 n40 p87(1)
        Article No. 09485051     *** Full-text article (2566 characters) ***

     2  Can invaders be stopped but civil liberties upheld?; Industry executives
        have joined to stimulate debate over computer users' rights. (computer
        hackers, The Executive Computer), The New York Times, Sept 9, 1990 v139
        pF12(N) pF12(L) 21 col in
        Article No. 08822456

     3  EFF: bringing Bill of Rights into the computer age. (Electronic Frontier
        Foundation), Byte, Sept 1990 v15 n9 p28(2)
        Article No. 08819820

     4  Slow push to judgement. (computer hackers)(Viewpoint) (column), 
        Computerworld, August 27, 1990 v24 n35 p21(1)
        Article No. 08791012

     5  Group to address computer users' rights. (Computer Professionals for
        Social Responsibility) (Business) (company profile), PC Week, August 13,
        1990 v7 n32 p117(1)
        Article No. 08748606     *** Full-text article (2745 characters) ***

     6  Fighting back against Fed's BBS crackdown. (heavy-handed approach of
        federal government toward operators of computer bulletin boards) (The
        Wide View) (column), PC Week, July 23, 1990 v7 n29 p53(1)
        Article No. 08670228     *** Full-text article (5156 characters) ***

     7  Crackdown on hackers 'may violate civil rights.' (computer hackers), New
        Scientist, July 21, 1990 v127 n1726 p22(1)
        Article No. 09300107

     8  Rights Advocate. (Mitchell Kapor; Newsmaker) (column), 
        CommunicationsWeek, July 16, 1990 n309 p2(1)
        Article No. 08638928

     9  Kapor group lines up for rights fight. (entrepreneur Mitch Kapor's
        Electronic Frontier Foundation) (includes related article on three
        hackers pleading guilty to documentation theft), Computerworld, July 16,
        1990 v24 n29 p6(1)
        Article No. 08639188

     10 Group to defend civil rights of hackers founded by computer industry
        pioneer. (Mitchell Kapor), The Wall Street Journal, July 11, 1990 pB4
        pB4 16 col in
        Article No. 08619396

     11 High-tech crime fighting: the threat to civil liberties., The Futurist, 
        July-August 1990 v24 n4 p20(6)
        Article No. 09177465     *** Full-text article (22737 characters) ***

     12 Hacker raids stir up battle over constitutional rights., Computerworld, 
        June 25, 1990 v24 n26 p1(2)
        Article No. 08583448

     13 Drive to counter computer crime aims at invaders; legitimate users voice
        worries over rights., The New York Times, June 3, 1990 v139 p1(N) p1(L)
        36 col in
        Article No. 08498074

True, I'm not working on the clock, and it is sunday night, so this isn't as
complete as professional research should be, but you get what you pay for...
-- 
Sean Donelan, Data Research Associates, Inc, St. Louis, MO 63132-1806
Domain: sean@dranet.dra.com, Voice: (Work) +1 314-432-1100