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CompuServe pornography ban raises legislative questions

December 29, 1995
Web posted at: 10 p.m. EST

Peg Tyre From Correspondent Peg Tyre

NEW YORK (CNN) -- For some, the Internet may be the frontier for limitless and unfettered communication. But, for others, it is an unwelcome intrusion.

Last week, CompuServe, one of the largest private online services, clamped down on Internet pornography. The company blocked its four million subscribers, spread across 140 countries, from some sexually explicit discussion groups about such topics as spanking, teen sex and bestiality.

Majorie Heins

CompuServe's subscribers will be unable to download or view such items as sexually explicit pictures. But legal experts say that the move raises a host of troubling First Amendment issues, like whose standards should prevail on the Internet. "The prospect of government authorities from any part of the world being able to censor the communications that are going on globally in Cyberspace is a serious threat to freedom of expression and to the incredible potential this medium has," said Marjorie Heins with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Hans Von Steckleberg

The move comes after a prosecutor in Germany complained that the material on the Internet via CompuServe violated German pornography laws. "National laws that apply in one particular country have a certain impact, a certain implication on the respective standards in another country and this is exactly what happened in the case of CompuServe and Germany," German Deputy Consul Hans Von Steckleberg said.

But computer experts say that with a little know-how, CompuServe subscribers will still be able to access the forbidden materials. "Not all of them will be aware of those routes but the interested ones will find it, it is publicly known how to do so," said Graham Davies, managing director of Easynet.

CompuServe's ban raises questions about the role of online services. "They could become classified as publications, where tight editorial control is being exercised by management. They don't want that, that's the most restrictive. In between, there's the concept of a bookstore, which decides what to put on the shelf but doesn't edit what's inside the book. And the least restrictive is to be classified as a common carrier, like a telephone company," said Mark Stahlman of New Media Expert.

CompuServe, who claims that it's not happy about the German restrictions, says that the total ban is temporary until it can figure out how to limit access according to each country's laws.

The Internet, freewheeling and worldwide, has been described by industry analysts as the closest we've ever come to anarchy. Who eventually policies that anarchy and enforces standards will be resolved by legislatures around the world.

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Complete list of the banned newsgroups

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