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[See the end of this article for information about obtaining the full
CAF-News electronically and about CAF-News in general.]

Topics discussed in CAF-News 02.64:

   1      about a Secret Service Raid
   2-4    on legal aspects of bulletin boards
   5-6    on property rights
   7-8    on chain letters
   9      on pornography
   10-11  on network policy
   12     on censorship

Abstract of CAF-News 02.64:
[For the two weeks ending January 3, 1993

========================== KEY ================================
The words after the numbers are a short PARAPHRASES of the
articles, or QUOTES from them, NOT AN OBJECTIVE SUMMARY and
not necessarily my opinion.
===============================================================

Note 1 is about a Secret Service Raid.

1. The Secret Service seized computers from a dorm room at Texas Tech
University, alleging the equipment was used to steal software over the
Internet.  The three men involved were not arrested, but they are
expected to be charged with computer crime, interstate transport of
stolen property, and copyright infringement.  Texas Tech computer
operators contacted the Secret Service after noting credit information
in the software that was filling their data storage devices.  Although
the USSS normally doesn't pursue software piracy, they do pursue using
"using electronic access devices such as passwords in the commission
of a crime".  The current investigation falls under a revision of
copyright laws which allow felony charges to be brought against anyone
who pirates more than 10 copies of copyrighted software.
    <fwd.BzMzto.HC5@cs.uiuc.edu>

Notes 2-4 are on legal aspects of bulletin boards.

2. The legal aspects, rights, and responsibilities of computer users
and system operators are addressed in SYSLAW, a book which attempts
"to explore the gap between statutes and case law on the one side, and
technological reality on the other."  The courts have yet to rule on
many of these topics, so the authors approach answers with fundamental
principles of constitutional and communications law, avoiding
inventing the law where it doesn't exist.
    <fwd.BzMzwC.HG5@cs.uiuc.edu>

3. SYSLAW contains a comprehensive summary of legal liabilities and
obligations of bulleting board operators, as well as a compendium of
laws and practices relevant to all users.  Topics covered in the book
include contracts, intellectual property, speech and the First
Amendment, privacy, sysop liabilities, and sysop/user relations.
Included are several federal statues on pornography, computer crime
laws, and federal fraud and abuse acts.
    <fwd.BzMzwK.HHB@cs.uiuc.edu>

4. A sample BBS contract is provided, which includes: describing
access and services available, price and payment accepted, system
rules, privacy, editorial control, ownership of materials, limitation
of liability and indemnity, choice of law (for out of state and
foreign users), and general information.  In addition to stating do's
and don'ts, the contract tries to explain or give justification for
certain policies.
    <fwd.BzMzwn.HI8@cs.uiuc.edu>

Notes 5-6 are on property rights.

5. Property rights apply to things government-owned or considered
public property.  Thus, much like a private citizen or company, the
administering agency of "public property" has the appropriate property
rights over their system.  This is in relation to the CERT advisory on
keystroke monitoring and whether it applies to private computer
systems, public ones, or all systems.
    <1992Dec22.150816.13247@qiclab.scn.rain.com>

6. However, the government derives its rights from the people, who
should have a say in what the policy concerning public property should
be.  "If it's publicly funded the general public has a right to have a
say on the policy."
    <1992Dec22.235726.23374@nntp.hut.fi>

Notes 7-8 are on chain letters.

7. Deciding what is and what is not a chain letter is difficult to
describe, but easy for a person to determine empirically.  Two workable
definitions of a chain letter are: something equivalent to what the
Post Office considers a chain letter; letter distribution solely for
the sake of distributing the letter.
    <1992Dec21.173054.18939@eff.org>

8. It's pointless to use an absolute definition for chain letters
since the definition will ultimately describe a particular chain
letter, and not be broad enough to describe all chain letters.
    <1992Dec23.030644.26358@pegasus.com>

Note 9 is on pornography.

9. Photography of child pornography itself should not be a crime,
since it is merely the evidence of the crime.  Also, punishing the
purchasers of such material doesn't punish the criminals themselves.
Finally, FoxVog Douglas contends that there is little or not child
pornography; rather, most distribution attempts are made by government
agents for the purpose of entrapment.
    <1992Dec23.123731.9243@ousrvr.oulu.fi>

Notes 10-11 are on network policy.

10. The NSF considered Dialog (a commercial user of ANS) as an
acceptable research and education user, although Dialog would not
guarantee that all their traffic would adhere to NSFNet Acceptable Use
policies.  Also, Dialog's customers were never given the chance to
pledge their user of Dialog would be research and education oriented.
    <9212121748.AA06273@tmn.com>

11. The NSF allows use of its NSFNet backbone to any information
provider that states it expects the only use made of its resources
will be in support of research and education.  However, the NSF asks
the information provider to cooperate in tracking down violations when
reported.
    <9212302019.AA06836@ncri>

Note 12 is on censorship.

12. A user at the University of Miami threatens to forward posts he
considers offensive, racist, or intolerable to the poster's system
administrator, for further action.
    <1993Jan3.135950.14274@umiami.ir.miami.edu>

- Karl]


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Disclaimer: This CAF-News abstract was compiled by a guest editor or a
regular editor (Paul Joslin, Elizabeth M. Reid, Adam C. Gross, Mark C.
Sheehan, John F. Nixon, Aaron Barnhart, or Carl M. Kadie). It is not
an EFF publication. The views an editor expresses and editorial
decisions he or she makes are his or her own.


--
Carl Kadie -- I do not represent EFF; this is just me.
 =kadie@eff.org, kadie@cs.uiuc.edu =