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EFFector Online Volume 6 Number 02
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EFFector Online Volume 6 No. 2 10/1/1993 editors@eff.org
A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation ISSN 1062-9424
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In This Issue:
***VERY IMPORTANT*** Critical Files to Remove from Your BBS
EFF to Defend Crypto Rights Legally
WIRE: Women's Information Resource & Exchange Opens Online Doors
Senator Kennedy Offers Info Online
EFF Welcomes Dan Brown, Stanton McCandlish, & Kathleen Zaffina
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***VERY IMPORTANT*** Critical Files to Remove from Your BBS
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EFF has learned that the following graphic image files have been the
subject of a recent federal indictment alleging receipt and possession of
child pornography and transportation of obscene materials through
interstate commerce. ***EFF STRONGLY ADVISES ALL SYSOPS TO REMOVE THESE
FILES FROM THEIR ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD SYSTEMS IMMEDIATELY IN ORDER TO
AVOID LEGAL REPERCUSSIONS.*** Please distribute this message widely and
quickly.
Alleged child pornography files:
PPO4@.GIF
FAMO3.GIF
CHERRYA.GIF
CHERRYB.GIF
CHERRYC.GIF
WC221501.GIF
LITSIS.GIF
MBON006.JPG
MBON007.JPG
DS-X-219.GIF
INOCNT.JPG
KID013.GIF
Alleged adult obscenity files:
ORGY6.ZIP (A DL FILE)
WC1C2332.GIF
BAMS-039.JPG
________________________________________
Shari Steele
Director of Legal Services
Electronic Frontier Foundation
1001 G Street, NW
Suite 950 East
Washington, DC 20001
202/347-5400 (voice), 202/393-5509 (fax)
ssteele@eff.org
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EFF to Defend Crypto Rights Legally
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Washington, D.C. -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation has committed
itself this week to legal defense efforts in response to what is
apparently a U.S. government campaign against the use and export of
cryptographic technology.
EFF's response to the anti-cryptography campaign, which has been directed
initially against the "Pretty Good Privacy" (PGP) encryption program
written by Phil Zimmermann, is three-fold:
o EFF and EFF board members will immediately contribute
funds to Phil Zimmermann's current legal expenses as they relate
to constitutional issues and will encourage others to make donations
for this legal effort.
o EFF will continue to vigorously investigate the facts of the PGP case,
and other cryptography-related cases that may arise, in order
to spotlight the constitutional issues raised by such cases.
o EFF is planning to launch in the near future a First Amendment
campaign aimed both at raising funds to support legal work on the
constitutional issues raised by these cases and at educating policymakers
and the general public about need to reform our outmoded export control laws.
The basic facts of the PGP case is as follows:
The Customs Bureau has interviewed Phil Zimmermann and others involved with
PGP. A San Jose grand jury subpoenaed documents relating to PGP from
ViaCrypt and Austin Code Works, two companies that intend to offer
commercial products related to PGP. The State Department has sent a letter
to Austin Code Works requiring them to register as an arms dealer, even if
they don't plan to export cryptography.
In light of these developments, the Electronic Frontier Foundation Board of
Directors met in Austin on Sept 22-23 to plan EFF's response.
EFF's Board of Directors believes that this case may involve fundamental
issues in the application of the U.S. Constitution to digital media. At
stake is the right to privacy, the right to public access to secure
cryptography, the right to publish digital writings, and the right to equal
protection under the law. We are resolved to take this matter very
seriously.
For this reason, EFF will undertake a vigorous investigation of the facts
in this and any other PGP related cases which might arise.
If the Grand Jury issues indictments that would, in the view of EFF,
threaten the future of digital liberty, we are prepared to assist in the case,
and any other cases that might have similar adverse effects. We are also
prepared to seek to amend the export laws to protect constitutional speech
and the right to disseminate and use encryption to protect the citizens'
right to privacy and to the security of their communications.
In the short run, EFF will assist Phil and others involved with PGP to find
criminal defense attorneys, explore ways to get any cases handled pro
bono publico, or for expenses only, and contribute funds to Phil and other
possible defendants for pre-indictment constitutional research, and we
encourage others to do the same. As of this announcement, several thousand
dollars have been pledged by EFF and EFF board members, including John
Gilmore, Mitchell Kapor and John Perry Barlow.
In the near future, EFF will launch a national campaign designed to provide
legal and financial support for cases or legislative efforts that would
promote the constitutionally guaranteed rights to develop, discuss, and
use cryptographic technology.
We urge you to help Phil Zimmermann in preparing his constitutional defense
by contacting Phil's lawyer, Philip Dubois (dubois@csn.org, +1 303 444 3885,
or 2305 Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304, USA). He is accepting legal defense
contributions relating directly to Phil's defense as an individual.
Board of Directors
Electronic Frontier Foundation
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WIRE: Women's Information Resource & Exchange Opens Online Doors
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-- 500 Founding Subscribers To Gain Access to New Information and
Conferencing System for Women --
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., October 1, 1993 -- Women's
Information Resource & Exchange (WIRE), the first international,
interactive computer network dedicated to women, today opened its
gateways to Founding Subscribers, defined as people actively interested
in building this electronic frontier community.
"More demographic balance in the online world is crucial," commented
Cliff Figallo, online communications coordinator of the Electronic
Frontier Foundation and former general manager of the WELL. "WIRE is
providing a vital information clearinghouse and an easy-to-use
networked meeting place for the half of our population that has, until
now, been vastly underrepresented and underserved in the online world.
By offering a safe and welcoming haven where women can assemble and
learn, WIRE will help seed the world network with net-savvy females and
bring the electronic community more in balance with Real World
demographics."
WIRE provides women with an easily accessed centralized source of
women-oriented information and conversation. For the first time,
individuals and organizations can quickly and easily access up-to-date
databases, discussions, alerts, abstracts, resources and experts on
health, politics, career, finance, technology, parenting, education,
lifestyle and many other issues of interest to women. Women and men
can log onto WIRE and discuss topics of interest with each other,
network to solve problems, instantly access information, keep in touch
with family and friends via email, and participate in newsgroups and
mailing lists from other systems on the Internet.
"We think WIRE will be a great new destination on the information
superhighway," explained Ellen Pack, co-founder and president of
WIRE. "There's a wealth of information for women to tap into -- health
studies, tips on starting a business or traveling alone, parenting
stories, legislative updates, funding sources, and discussions about
art and literature. WIRE is excited to bring resources and dialog
directly to people's home and office computers. WIRE is providing a
place for women around the world to get connected to what's happening
and to each other."
WIRE Founding Subscribers will be limited to 500 people who want
to be early influencers committed to actively developing the online
community. The Grand Opening for WIRE is scheduled for early 1994.
"We want to foster diversity," says Pack. "In Founding
Subscribers, we are looking for people with something to contribute,
personally, intellectually or through their involvements. While many
subscribers will already be familiar with computer conferencing, our
goal is to make it so easy to get around online that it's completely
unnecessary to be technologically sophisticated."
"WIRE's interface uses familiar desktop conventions with some nice
extensions -- a most refreshing alternative to the usual tangle of
Unixoid arcana," said Dr. Brenda Laurel, researcher at Interval
Research "The big news with WIRE, however, is the content -- the pump
is primed with topics and points of view that invite women-centered
discourse and community building. I'm looking forward to living with
WIRE. It seems like the right place to introduce my daughters (ages 5
and 8) to the wonderful world of networking, too."
USING WIRE IS EASY
The point-and-click, graphical user interface makes it especially
easy for people to find the information they want and reduces the
learning curve required to use the system. The graphical user
interface is currently available for Mac and Windows computers, with a
DOS version to be announced within a few months. A command line
interface is also currently available.
WIRE ENCOURAGES CALLS TO CUSTOMER SUPPORT
A friendly customer support team is available to users at no
charge. "Part of our mission is to introduce more women to computer
networking which involves friendly and consistent user support."said
Nancy Rhine, co-founder and development director of WIRE. "We want
people to ask questions! We even hold face-to-face workshops at our
offices to demo the how-tos of exploring the online world. At WIRE
there is no such thing as a 'stupid question'."
ACCESS TO THE VAST WORLD OF THE INTERNET
Currently, WIRE offers Internet email, mailing lists, UPI
Newswires, and Usenet newsgroups. Subscribers can telnet to WIRE using
either the vt-100 based command line interface or the Mac GUI
supporting color, sounds, and pictures.
"Along with all the really juicy information available on WIRE, we
want to encourage women to access other information resources out there
on the Internet. We are working towards providing the full range of
popular applications available via the Internet, including gopher,
WAIS, archie, ftp, and others", said Rhine. "WIRE will be rolling out
technical tools one-at-a-time, both to ensure technical quality and to
provide the appropriate customer support. We think focusing on quality
is the only proper way to keep up with the latest and greatest tools
available."
WIRE NETWORKS, INC.
WIRE is an international, interactive, computer network serving
the information and networking needs of women. WIRE's management and
support office is located in South San Francisco. WIRE's computer
hardware is located and supported around the clock by Pandora Systems
of San Francisco. WIRE is available today to founding subscribers at a
cost of $15/month which includes 2 free hours of online time,
additional hours cost $2.50/hour. For long distance users, access is
available thru SprintNet at an additional cost, which varies according
to time of day. WIRE is also available via telnet from a remote
Internet site. Discounts are available for groups. Gift certificates
are also available.
For more information contact WIRE at 415/615-8989 or send email to
info@wire.net.
Press contacts: Naomi Pearce (415/615-7914) or
Nancy Rhine (415/615-8989)
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Senator Kennedy Offers Info Online
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______________________________________________________________________________
from the office of
Senator Edward M. Kennedy
______________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: PAM HUGHES
SEPTEMBER 14, 1993 202/224-2633
SENATOR KENNEDY IS FIRST TO OFFER DIRECT ACCESS TO CONSTITUENTS THROUGH
COMPUTER OUTREACH
Sen. Edward M. Kennedy is the first member of the U.S. Congress to offer
constituents direct access to his speeches, press releases and Senate
statements through their personal computers. In a pioneering experiment,
Kennedy began posting releases in May on computer bulletin boards for reading
by his Massachusetts constituents.
"Massachusetts citizens are among the most technologically sophisticated in
the nation," said Kennedy. "By communicating directly with my constituents
in their homes, schools, and workplaces, I hope to make my day-to-day work
in Washington more accessible to the people of Massachusetts. I invite
Massachusetts citizens to take advantage of this inno vation in electronic
democracy."
Kennedy's public statements are accessible on several computer bulletin
boards, as well as in two USENET news groups via the Internet. The bulletin
boards provide a cost-effective way for voters to directly access information
from Sen. Kennedy on various policy issues.
Readers of the Kennedy releases may provide the Senator with immediate
feedback on the issues by commenting via computer. While all comments will be
monitored, staff limitations will prohibit individual replies for the
foreseeable future. Constituents are encouraged to contact Kennedy's
Boston or Washington office by mail when a reply is desired.
Response during the summer experiment has been so positive that Kennedy's
office has expanded its reach of bulletin boards and is actively alerting the
general public about the availability of the Kennedy postings. Comments from
con stituents have included:
"I would like to thank you for making the effort to publish these press
releases on our bulletin board. It is admirable that you are sincerely making
an effort to get your opinions out into the public arena..."
"I'm all for our elected reps getting 'with it'."
"I recommend that everyone check out the Sen. Kennedy press release
conference..."
Senator Kennedy, who chairs the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources,
will play a major role in the Senate's consideration of President Clinton's
comprehensive health care proposal. The Labor Committee also has jurisdiction
over federal legislation involving jobs and education. Constituents
interested in these and other policy matters can read his electronic
postings to obtain up-to-date information.
North Shore Mac, a free bulletin board run by Jonathan Gourd in Beverly,
Massachusetts, provides the home location for the "Sen. Kennedy Releases"
conference. This board can be reached at 508/921-4716 and can be accessed
with standard telecommunications software, or in its graphical interface
via
Macintosh or Windows client software available for downloading on-line.
Visitors can sign-on with the User ID: visitor, Password: visitor.
On the Internet, releases can be found in the following USENET news groups:
ne.politics and talk.politics.misc
These releases are also available via anonymous FTP:
ftp ftp.ai.mit.edu, (login as) anonymous, cd incoming/Kennedy
Technical assistance and distribution to the Internet is provided as a public
service by the Intelligent Information Infrastructure Project, at the
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
*************************************************************
EFF Welcomes Dan Brown, Stanton McCandlish & Kathleen Zaffina
*************************************************************
Beginning this month, EFF welcomes three new additions to our staff.
Dan Brown will be EFF's new Systems Administrator. Recently, Dan has been
administering the system and providing technical support at Case Western in
Cleveland, Ohio. One of Dan's earliest tasks will be to relocate EFF's
cluster of SUN Sparkstations from Cambridge, MA, to Washington, DC. Dan
will then be responsible for administering our gopher, wais and ftp sites.
You can reach Dan at brown@eff.org.
Stanton McCandlish is starting as EFF's Online Activist. Stanton may be
familiar to many of you already, as he is a relatively outspoken member of
several popular mail lists. Stanton has just moved all of his belongings
to DC from Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he ran his own BBS. One of
Stanton's earliest tasks will be to set up an EFF BBS. Stanton will also
be taking over editorial responsibility for EFFector Online. You can reach
Stanton at mech@eff.org.
Kathleen Zaffina will be replacing Kirsten Erickson as EFF's Executive
Assistant. Kathleen has over 15 years of experience in similar positions,
most recently working at Amideast, a nonprofit organization in DC that
promotes understanding between people in the United States and Middle
Eastern countries. Kathleen will be responsible for making sure that EFF's
office runs smoothly, providing support to EFF staff and board. You can
reach Kathleen at kzaffina@eff.org.
=============================================================
EFFector Online is published biweekly by:
Electronic Frontier Foundation
1001 G Street, N.W., Suite 950 East
Washington, DC 20001 USA
Phone: +1 202 347 5400 FAX: +1 202 393 5509
Internet Address: eff@eff.org
Coordination, production and shipping by Shari Steele,
Director of Legal Services & Community Outreach (ssteele@eff.org)
Reproduction of this publication in electronic media is encouraged. Signed
articles do not necessarily represent the view of the EFF. To reproduce
signed articles individually, please contact the authors for their express
permission.
*This newsletter is printed on 100% recycled electrons.*
=============================================================
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Our memberships are $20.00 per year for students and $40.00 per year for
regular members. You may, of course, donate more if you wish.
=============================================================
Mail to:
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Electronic Frontier Foundation
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Washington, DC 20001 USA
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