CMC Magazine November 1, 1995 / Page 4

CMC NEWS

ACLU Launches New Cyber-Liberties Newsletter

by Ann Beeson (beeson@aclu.org)

As part of growing efforts to defend and promote civil liberties on the information superhighway, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a new online newsletter to inform citizens across the country of the latest developments in the emerging debate over privacy, free speech, and access rights in the new information age.

Begun on October 4th, the "ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update" is distributed bi-weekly via the Internet to thousands of civil rights advocates and computer users free of charge. The newsletter will provide up-to-date information and analyses of federal and state initiatives seeking to restrict civil liberties in cyberspace, as well as make calls for citizen-led actions.

The ACLU believes that the Bill of Rights applies to all forms of communication. The nation is at a formative stage in developing policies for the information superhighway. The level of access and rights afforded to cyberspace residents will profoundly shape our democracy as we enter the next millennium.

The premier issue of the "ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update" includes:

• discussion of U.S. Senator Hatch's (R-Utah) "virtual" child pornography bill
• analysis of the Clinton Administration's latest key escrow encryption proposal
• an overview of recent state censorship laws
• the ACLU's inquiry into FBI raids on America Online

The newsletter also advertises a search for individuals who are willing to join an ACLU lawsuit challenging a federal "indecency" bill pending before Congress. The bill, currently in a joint Senate-House committee, is expected to sharply curtail the free speech rights of computer users who distribute materials that some may find "indecent," even materials that have strong artistic, literary or educational value.

The ACLU, the nation's oldest and largest defender of civil liberties and civil rights, is the only organization monitoring online censorship issues in all fifty states, as well as at the federal level. With the expertise and resources of affiliate offices around the country, the ACLU works to promote the rights of citizens in cyberspace through public education, policy analysis, and litigation.

To subscribe to the "ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update," send an e-mail message to infoaclu@aclu.org with "subscribe ACLU" in the subject line of your message.

Ann Beeson is editor of ACLU Cyber-Liberties Update.

Copyright © 1995 by Ann Beeson. All Rights Reserved.

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