Terrorist/Bomb Making Material on the Internet Should it be Available?

Members: Censorship Group Kevin Wyler January Tavel Christina Huynh Andrea Swift

Censorship Issues in Historic and Modern Times

Censorship and the First Amendment Censorship violates the concepts of freedom of expression Printer John Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly journal -most famous case -trial created an American cultural sentiment, which opposed this kind of government censorship

Early Years vs Now Early Years 1790, the First Amendment of the Constitution is formed -was written vaguely -Supreme Court has interpreted it ‘s meaning on a case-by-case basis -What is the right? 1) “to say or publish what they wish” 2) “it is the protection of the public’s right to know, or society’s right to be informed” (Pember 42) -there are limitations Now television, radio, internet exist Sometimes, censorship is influenced by the kind of medium the message is transmitted (Pember 120) Issues with Internet are: sexually explicit, pornographic and obscene or violent content, hate speech, and terrorist speech, etc…

Legislation and Terrorist Speech Issues “The Internet and other interactive computer services offer a forum for a true diversity of political discourse, unique opportunities for cultural development, and myriad avenues for intellectual activity” (Title II of the Communications Act of 1934) *the writers of this piece of legislation probably had no idea that obtaining knowledge of how to make a bomb would be a part of that intellectual acitvity

Introduction We will explore the terrorist speech on the Internet, related legislation and government activity, and the arguments for and against censorship of terrorist speech online. For the purposes of our discussion of censorship, it will be important to consider terrorism in the information and communication context only.

EPIC The Electronic Privacy Information Centre opposes the Communications Decency Act, which was adopted by the Senate Commerce Committee on March 24, Does limiting the information that one ca attain on the internet invade their privacy? They believe that it is unconstitutional restriction on free expression, personal privacy, and intellectual freedom.

Oklahoma City Bombing

2 Amendments The Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of Passed by the Senate on May 20, Requires Internet Service Providers “to provide residential customers with computer software or other filtering or blocking system that allows the customer to prevent access of minors to material on the Internet Criminal Prohibition on Distributing of certain Information relating to Explosives, Destructive Devices,and Weapons of Mass Destruction -makes it a crime to teach or demonstrate the making of an explosive device on the Internet

The Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999 Passed by the Senate on May 20, 1999 Requires Internet Service Providers “to provide residential customers with computer software or other filtering or blocking system that allows the customer to prevent access of minors to material on the Internet

Pro-censorship Argument FBI’s definition of terrorism= “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof,in furtherance of political or social objectives.” (whether offline or online)

Why is information about Bombs available?

Senator Dianne Feinstein’s View Believes 1 st Amendment protections should not be extending to the kind of information that is easily available on the Internet and teaches people how to build bombs that kill According to her the government should have the right to prevent people from endangering public safety, and to protect national security by restricting access to such information

2 Supreme Court Decisions 1996, Paladian Enterprises, INC -was cited in the wrongful death suit for publishing “Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors” 1993, World Trade Center bombing -testimony before Congress in Feb. 2000, FBI Director Louis Freech said “convicted terrorist Ramzi Yousef- traded detailed plans to destroy United States’ airliners with other terrorist over the Internet

The Violent and Repeat Juvenile Offender Accountability and Rehabilitation Act of 1999 Passed by the Senate on May 20, 1999 Requires Internet Service Providers “to provide residential customers with computer software or other filtering or blocking system that allows the customer to prevent access of minors to material on the Internet

Anti-censorship Argument “Congress shall make no law… abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances” (US Constitution)

Pros & Cons Constitution’s framers believed that freedom of inquiry and liberty of expression were the hallmarks of a democratic society

March 29, 2001 The 9 th US Court of Appeals overturned an Oregon court’s ruling that order anti-abortion activists who created a website, which provides the names of addresses of abortion doctors to pay $107 million in damages to Planned Parenthood and four doctors -critics =“domestic terrorism and deadly threats” -anti-abortionists argue= “nothing in their materials specifically advocated violence against abortion providers”

Conclusion Ultimately, censorship of any kind is a complex issue in which consideration of both individual First Amendment rights and national interests must be considered. We can see by examining the court decisions regarding terrorist speech online and offline, that the circumstances of each case play a role in determining the court’s ruling and that decisions specifically applying to Internet issues have yet to be set.