1. Corresponding page number: Six Topics: 1. Communication Paradigms 2. Controlling Speech 3. Posting, Selling, and Leaking Sensitive Material 4. Anonymity 5. The Global Net: Censorship and Political Freedom 6. Net Neutrality Regulations or the Market? THIS 39 SLIDE PRESENTATION WALKS YOU THROUGH THE B OOK “A GIFT OF F IRE ” 4 TH E DITION C H 3 F REEDOM OF S PEECH 133 Freedom of Speech from Book 1

2. Corresponding page number: Regulating communications media  First Amendment protection and government regulation  Print media (newspapers, magazines, books)  Broadcast (television, radio)  Common carries (telephones, postal system) 1. C OMMUNICATION P ARADIGMS 134-136 Freedom of Speech from Book 2

3. Corresponding page number: Telecommunication Act of 1996  Changed regulatory structure and removed artificial legal divisions of service areas and restrictions on services that telephone companies can provide.  No provider or user of interactive computer services shall be treated as a publisher of any information provided by another information- content provider. Communications Decency Act of 1996  First major Internet censorship law  Main parts ruled unconstitutional 1. C OMMUNICATION P ARADIGMS 137 Freedom of Speech from Book 3

4. Corresponding page number: Free-speech Principles  Written for offensive and/or controversial speech and ideas  Covers spoken and written words, pictures, art, and other forms of expression of ideas and opinions  Restriction on the power of government, not individuals or private businesses 1. C OMMUNICATION P ARADIGMS 137-138 Freedom of Speech from Book 4

5. Corresponding page number: Free-speech Principles (cont.)  Supreme Court principles and guidelines  Advocating illegal acts is (usually) legal.  Anonymous speech is protected.  Some restrictions are allowed on advertising.  Libel and direct, specific threats are not protected.  Inciting violence is illegal. 1. C OMMUNICATION P ARADIGMS 138 Freedom of Speech from Book 5

6. Corresponding page number: What was already illegal?  Obscenity  Depicts a sexual act against state law  Depicts these acts in a patently offensive manner that appeals to prurient interest as judged by a reasonable person using community standards  Lacks literary, artistic, social, political or scientific value Straining old legal standards  The definition of “community”  The definition of “distribution” 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 140 Freedom of Speech from Book 6

7. Corresponding page number: A couple in California opened a computer bulletin board system (BBS) called Amateur Action that made sexually explicit images available to members. Most legal observers agreed the BBS operators would not have been guilty of a crime in California. A postal inspector in Memphis, Tennessee, working with a U.S. attorney there, became a member of the BBS and downloaded sexually explicit images in Memphis. The couple, who lived and worked in California, were prosecuted in Tennessee and found guilty of distributing obscenity under local community standards. Did the BBS operators send obscene files to Tennessee? BBSs were accessed through the telephone system. The postal inspector in Tennessee initiated the telephone call to the BBS and initiated the transfer of the files. Critics of the prosecution of the BBS operators argued that it is as if the postal inspector went to California, bought pornographic pictures and brought them home to Memphis – then had the seller prosecuted under Memphis community standards. 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 140 Freedom of Speech from Book 7

8. Corresponding page number: Freedom of speech guidelines  Distinguish speech from action. Advocating illegal acts is (usually) legal.  Laws must not chill expression of legal speech.  Do not reduce adults to reading only what is fit for children.  Solve speech problems by least restrictive means. 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 142 Freedom of Speech from Book 8

9. Corresponding page number: Internet Censorship Laws & Alternatives  Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA)  Attempted to avoid conflict with First Amendment by focusing on children  Made it a crime to make available to anyone under 18 any obscene or indecent communication  Found to be unconstitutional  The worst material threatening children was already illegal  It was too vague and broad  It did not use the least restrictive means of accomplishing the goal of protecting children 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 141 Freedom of Speech from Book 9

10. Corresponding page number: Internet Censorship Laws & Alternatives  Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA)  More limited than CDA  Federal crime for commercial Web sites to make available to minors material “harmful to minors” as judged by community standards  Found to be unconstitutional  It was too broad  It would restrict the entire country to the standards of the most conservative community  It would have a chilling effect 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 142 Freedom of Speech from Book 10

11. Corresponding page number: Internet Censorship Laws & Alternatives  Children's Internet Protection Act of 2000 (CIPA)  Requires schools and libraries that participate in certain federal programs to install filtering software  Upheld in court  Does not violate First Amendment since it does not require the use of filters, impose jail or fines  It sets a condition for receipt of certain federal funds 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 142-143 Freedom of Speech from Book 11

12. Corresponding page number: Video Games  A California law banned sale or rental of violent video games to minors.  In 2011, the Supreme Court of California ruled it violated the First Amendment. 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 143-144 Freedom of Speech from Book 12

13. Corresponding page number: Alternatives to censorship  Filters  Blocks sites with specific words, phrases or images  Parental control for sex and violence  Updated frequently but may still screen out too much or too little  Not possible to eliminate all errors  What should be blocked? 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 145 Freedom of Speech from Book 13

14. Corresponding page number: Alternatives to censorship  Policies  Commercial services, online communities, and social networking sites develop policies to protect members.  Video game industry developed rating system that provides an indication for parents about the amount of sex, profanity, and violence in a game. 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 145 Freedom of Speech from Book 14

15. Corresponding page number: Discussion Question  Why is ‘least restrictive means’ important?  Do you consider the Internet an appropriate tool for young children? Why or why not? 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 141-145 Freedom of Speech from Book 15

16. Corresponding page number: Child Pornography  Includes pictures or videos of actual minors (children under 18) engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Production is illegal primarily because of abuse of the actual children, not because of the impact of the content on a viewer. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 146 Freedom of Speech from Book 16

17. Corresponding page number: Child Pornography  Congress extended the law against child pornography to include “virtual” child pornography.  The Supreme Court ruled the law violated the First Amendment.  The Court accepted a later law providing harsh penalties for certain categories of computer-generated and cartoon-type images. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 146-147 Freedom of Speech from Book 17

18. Corresponding page number: Sexting  Sending sexually suggestive or explicit text or photos, usually by cellphone or social media  Can meet the definition of child pornography if subject is under 18 C ONTROLLING S PEECH 147 Freedom of Speech from Book 18

19. Corresponding page number: Spam  What’s the problem?  Loosely described as unsolicited bulk email  Mostly commercial advertisement  Angers people because of content and the way it’s sent  Free speech issues  Spam imposes a cost on recipients  Spam filters do not violate free speech (free speech does not require anyone to listen) C ONTROLLING S PEECH 148-149 Freedom of Speech from Book 19

20. Corresponding page number: Spam (cont.)  Anti-spam Laws  Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM Act)  Targets commercial spam  Criticized for not banning all spam, legitimized commercial spam 2. C ONTROLLING S PEECH 151 Freedom of Speech from Book 20

21. Corresponding page number: “Free speech is enhanced by civility.” -Tim O’Reilly  Policies of large companies  A Web site with risks Do search engine providers have a social or ethical obligation to provide complete search results to all queries, or do they have a social or ethical obligation to omit very offensive sites from search results? People should consider potential risks of posting material. They should consider unintended readers or users and should consider ways to prevent access by unintended users. Leaks  Type of material  Value to society  Risks to society and individuals The Web is a convenient and powerful tool for whistleblowers. Some leaks serve valuable social purposes. Do you agree? 3. P OSTING, S ELLING, AND L EAKING S ENSITIVE M ATERIAL 153-155 Freedom of Speech from Book 21

22. Corresponding page number:  Leaks (cont.)  Examples  WikiLeaks WikiLeaks  Climategate  WikiLeaks released U.S. military documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including videos of shooting incidents. When a long, costly war is controversial, does the public have a right to see the internal reports and vivid video that can inform debate? WikiLeaks released a large set of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables that included, among much else, discussions of the personalities of foreign leaders.  Climategate emails leaked in 2009 and 2011 showed that researchers at the University of East Anglia pursued a variety of methods to deny access to their temperature data by scientists who question some aspects of global warming. The emails also described efforts to stop scientific journals from publishing papers by scientists who are considered skeptics about global warming. Investigations by the British government and other groups concluded that the emails did not show scientific misconduct, but the research center had broken Britain’s Freedom of Information Act. The reports criticized various procedures the research group used but not its scientific conclusions. Some emails discussed criticisms and uncertainties related to details of the argument that human activity causes global warming. Researchers discuss such uncertainties in papers and conferences, but news reports often exclude them. Is it important for the public to know what is in the emails? What criteria argue for or against these leaks?  When evaluating the ethics of leaking documents on political or highly politicized issues, it can be difficult to make judgments that are independent of our views on the issues themselves. 3. P OSTING, S ELLING, AND L EAKING S ENSITIVE M ATERIAL 156-157 Freedom of Speech from Book 22

23. Corresponding page number:  Leaks (cont.)  Potentially dangerous leaks  Releasing a huge mass of documents WikiLeaks released a secret U.S. government cable listing critical sites, such as telecommunications hubs, dams, pipelines, supplies of critical minerals, manufacturing complexes, and so on, where damage or disruption would cause significant harm. Some might defend publication of the list by arguing that it encourages better protection of the sites or that terrorists already know about the sites, but the risks seem to overwhelm any public value of this leak. Some cables named whistleblowers, confidential informants, human rights activists, intelligence officers and Chinese people (in business, academia, and the Chinese government) who provided information about social and political conditions in China. The release of these documents put those people at risk. The U.S. government documents that WikiLeaks made public included approximately 250,000 diplomatic cables and thousands of other documents. The Climategate leaks included thousands of documents. Did the leakers review and evaluate all the documents they released to be sure they met reasonable criteria to justify the leaks? Should they have? In the spirit of the Web, leakers can now let the public search through the documents for those of special interest. This can be valuable, but it can be wrong. Recall that an important justification for leaking documents that belong to someone else is that the leaker knows they contain information that the public should see. On the other hand, selective disclosure can distort information by presenting it without context. 3. P OSTING, S ELLING, AND L EAKING S ENSITIVE M ATERIAL 157-158 Freedom of Speech from Book 23

24. Corresponding page number:  Leaks (cont.)  Responsibilities of operators of Web sites for leaks  A person or organization establishing a site to publish leaked documents that serve an important public purpose should consider the various points already raised, but also has responsibilities to avoid abuse of the site. The site must have sufficient security to protect whistleblowers – the people who supply the documents. There should be a well-thought-out policy about how to handle requests or demands from law enforcement agencies (of various countries) for the identity of a person supplying documents. Verification of the authenticity and validity of leaked documents, while it can be difficult, is the responsibility of the site operators.  Freedom of speech and of the press leave us with the ethical responsibility for what we say and publish. 3. P OSTING, S ELLING, AND L EAKING S ENSITIVE M ATERIAL 157-159 Freedom of Speech from Book 24

25. Corresponding page number:  Common Sense and Federalist Papers  Thomas Paine’s name did not appear on the first printings of Common Sense, the book that roused support for the American Revolution.  The Federalist Papers, published in newspapers in 1787 and 1788, argued for adoption of the U.S. Constitution. The authors, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, used the pseudonym, Publius. 4. A NONYMITY 159 Freedom of Speech from Book 25

26. Corresponding page number:  Positive uses of anonymity  Protect political speech  Protect against retaliation and embarrassment  Anonymizing services  used by individuals, businesses, law enforcement agencies, and government intelligence services 4. A NONYMITY 159-161 Freedom of Speech from Book 26

27. Corresponding page number:  Negative uses of anonymity  protects criminal and antisocial activities  aids fraud, harassment, extortion, distribution of child pornography, theft, and copyright infringement  masks illegal surveillance by government agencies 4. A NONYMITY 161-162 Freedom of Speech from Book 27

28. Corresponding page number: Tools for communication, tools for oppression  Authoritarian governments have impeded flow of information and opinion throughout history.  The vibrant communication of the Internet threatens governments in countries that lack political and cultural freedom. 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 163-165 Freedom of Speech from Book 28

29. Corresponding page number: Tools for communication, tools for oppression (cont.)  Attempts to limit the flow of information on the Internet similar to earlier attempts to place limits on other communications media  Some countries own the Internet backbone within their countries and block specific sites and content at the border  Some countries ban all or certain types of access to the Internet 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 163-165 Freedom of Speech from Book 29

30. Corresponding page number: Tools for communication, tools for oppression (cont.)  Avoiding censorship: the global nature of the Net allows restrictions (or barriers) in one country to be circumvented by using networks in other, less restrictive countries.  Creating censorship: the global nature of the Net makes it easier for one nation to impose restrictive standards on others. 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 163-165 Freedom of Speech from Book 30

31. Corresponding page number: “The office of communications is ordered to find ways to ensure that the use of the Internet becomes impossible. The Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice is obliged to monitor the order and punish violators.” - Excerpt from Taliban edict banning Internet use in Afghanistan (2001) 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 165 Freedom of Speech from Book 31

32. Corresponding page number: Aiding foreign censors and repressive regimes  Yahoo and French censorship  Yahoo, eBay and others make decisions to comply with foreign laws for business reasons  Skype and Chinese control  Chinese government requires modified version of Skype 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 165-167 Freedom of Speech from Book 32

33. Corresponding page number: Aiding foreign censors and repressive regimes  Companies who do business in countries that control Internet access must comply with the local laws  Google argued that some access is better than no access 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 165-167 Freedom of Speech from Book 33

34. Corresponding page number: Discussion Questions  When U.S. or other non-Chinese companies set up branches in China and comply with restrictive laws, should we view them as providing more access to information in China than would otherwise exist, albeit not as much as is technically possible?  Should we view them as partners in the Chinese government’s ethically unacceptable restriction on debate and access to information by its citizens?  Should we view them as appropriately respecting the culture and laws of the host country? 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 165-167 Freedom of Speech from Book 34

35. Corresponding page number: Discussion Questions  What impact does the global net have on free speech?  Does censorship in other countries have an impact on free speech in the U.S.?  How does free speech in ‘free countries’ impact more restrictive countries? 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 165-167 Freedom of Speech from Book 35

36. Corresponding page number: Selling surveillance tools  Repressive governments intercept citizens’ communications and filter Internet content.  Companies in Western democracies sell them the sophisticated tools to do so. 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 167 Freedom of Speech from Book 36

37. Corresponding page number: Shutting down communications in free countries  Public safety  In the U.S., the Supreme Court would probably declare unconstitutional a law that authorized a government agency to order a private communications service to shut down. Does shutting down communication services in free countries give excuses to dictators in unfree countries? 5. T HE G LOBAL N ET : C ENSORSHIP AND P OLITICAL F REEDOM 168 Freedom of Speech from Book 37

38. Corresponding page number:  Net Neutrality  Refers to a variety of proposals for restrictions on how telephone and cable companies interact with their broadband customers and set fees for services. There are two different but related issues: (1) whether the companies that provide the communications networks should be permitted to exclude or give different treatment to content based on the content itself, on the category of content, or on the company or organization that provides it, and (2) whether the companies that provide the communications networks should be permitted to offer content providers and individual subscribers different levels of speed and priority at different price levels. The latter is sometimes called “tiered” service. 6. N ET N EUTRALITY R EGULATIONS OR THE M ARKET ? 169-171 Freedom of Speech from Book 38

39. Corresponding page number: Net Neutrality Argue for equal treatment of all customers Equal treatment includes charging all customers the same rate for sending information over the Internet and not giving priority to any particular content or customer. Would restore part of the concept of common carrier (as described in Section 3.1), based partly on the view that telephone companies (now telephone and cable) have a monopoly on transmission of information and that companies that control transmission should not be permitted to control access to content as well. Many Internet content providers and large companies such as eBay, Microsoft, Amazon, Netflix, and Google, argue for net-neutrality rules. Without the rules, some argue, they will have to pay higher rates and communications companies will give special treatment to their own content providers. Some groups argue that allowing communications companies to set varying rates would be devastating for the Internet as it would squeeze out independent voices. Only big companies and organizations will be able to afford the prices necessary to ensure that their content moves fast enough to be relevant. Market Flexibility and market incentives will benefit customers Charging different rates for products and services is not unusual and makes economic sense in many areas. Before the FCC relaxed older regulations (in 2003-2005), telecommunications companies had little incentive to invest in broadband capacity. In the few years afterward, they invested hundreds of billions of dollars. Speeds increased, prices fell, and the added capacity was essential for new phenomena such as streaming video. Opponents of additional regulations say there should be no major new regulation without evidence of harm in the current system. 6. N ET N EUTRALITY R EGULATIONS OR THE M ARKET ? 169-171 Freedom of Speech from Book 39