nettime on Tue, 29 Jun 1999 20:59:46 +0200 (CEST) |
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drazen@xs4all.nl: freedom of speech - different angle |
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - <nettime-l-temp@material.net> is the temporary home of the nettime-l list while desk.nl rebuilds its list-serving machine. please continue to send messages to <nettime-l@desk.nl> and your commands to <majordomo@desk.nl>. nettime-l-temp should be active for approximately 2 weeks (11-28 Jun 99). - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 23:29:58 -0400 To: nettime@desk.nl From: Drazen Pantic <drazen@xs4all.nl> Subject: freedom of speech - different angle FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 15, 1999 EFF Launches Online Campaign to Support Digital Audio Free Expression John Perry Barlow Kicks Off Campaign at MP3 Summit During Keynote CONTACT: Alex Fowler, Electronic Frontier Foundation (415) 902-0961; afowler@eff.org SAN DIEGO, CA -- To support the evolution of music distribution from the physical to digital realm, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is launching a new online campaign to preserve the public's ability to exercise all lawful uses of music and digital audio equipment. The campaign, part of EFF's new Consortium for Audiovisual Free Expression (CAFE), is being kicked off Tuesday at the MP3 Summit '99 in San Diego. "Online music fans should not be forced to relinquish important rights like fair use and free speech because others fear they will abuse those rights," said Tara Lemmey, EFF's Executive Director. "EFF supports the development of an open digital audio architecture that respects the public's long standing legal rights under copyright and international standards of free expression." "You cannot own free speech," added John Perry Barlow, EFF co-founder and lyricist for the Grateful Dead. He will officially launch EFF's online public education campaign during his keynote presentation at the premiere industry event backing the open distribution of MP3s. "Many folks in the music industry might not know this," said Lemmey, "but EFF has helped pave the way for today's explosion in MP3s and other audiovisual content on the Internet through ongoing challenges of restrictions placed on content and computer security." The Electronic Frontier Foundation has successfully challenged legislation that restricted online expression, such as the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA) and the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA). Most recently, EFF achieved a major victory in its legal challenge of the US government's controls on encryption technology, on the grounds that it is an unconstitutional restriction to free expression guaranteed by the First Amendment. Encryption is the technical means for protecting privacy, data integrity, and intellectual property on the Internet. In 1996, EFF launched the Blue Ribbon Campaign against the CDA, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of Web sites all over the world displaying the Blue Ribbon and linking to EFF Web pages containing information about censorship legislation and free speech on the Internet. The Blue Ribbon page became the fourth most-linked-to site on the Internet and has been accessed millions of times. Using the Blue Ribbon Campaign as a model, the new CAFE campaign informs the public of their legal rights as well as their responsibilities regarding MP3 files and other digital audiovisual content. The campaign brings together artists, technologists, and consumers, creating a network of concerned people who want to see the highest standards of free expression built into the architecture for digital distribution of audio. Complete information on the campaign is located at http://www.eff.org/cafe, including informational articles and recommended actions. See http://www.eff.org/cafe/EFF_audio_statement.html for EFF's policy paper on digital audio free expression. See http://www.mp3.com/summit/summit.html for information on the MP3 Summit '99. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org) is the leading global organization linking technical architectures and legal frameworks to support the rights of individuals in an open society. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression, privacy, and access in the information society. The Electronic Frontier Foundation maintains the 4th most-linked-to Web site in the world.