Censorship

• Johann Gutenberg broke the catholic church's monopoly on the bible in 1448 CE, and the world changed dramatically. A democratic revolution similar to Gutenberg's is taking place today in the transmission and presentation of news. The Internet, in general, and the published pages of the World-Wide Web, in particular, make the suppression of information nearly impossible. See The Internet and the Death of the News Monopoly

• By Governments
  • Germany has no First Amendment. German Prosecutors are attempting (so far, unsuccessfully) to cut links to foreign web sites which would be illegal in Germany
  • Austria censors the internet Child pornography provides a ready excuse to seize the computers of ISPs. See Kiddie Porn
  • China and Burma censor the internet Unlike Germany and Austria, China and Burma makes no bone about the fact that they would like to censor sites offensive to the ruling parties.
  • The UAE censors the internet Some countries seek to censor sites in cyberspace that breach local moral values and traditions.
  • Censorship by Copyright Copyright law, intended to protect the intellectual property of authors, is increasingly being used to shut down sites that offend the copyright holder in some way. In addition, some entrepeneurs are copyrighting public information (such as court decisions) and prohibiting others from publishing this information. See Taxpayer Assets Project
  • Censorship by Restricting Access One way governments can control the flow of information is to cut off all internet access. Another is to drive up the cost until only the rich can afford it.
  • Casewatch: Recent court cases involving the internet
  • Censorship may be futile... Open phone lines, re-directed links, and the sheer volume of information may make any attempt to control the internet an exercise in futility.
  • and, in the USA, unconstitutional. The Communications Decency Act is overturned
  • Index Expurgatorium The Online Index of Banned Books (this URL is, by the way, itself banned by NetNanny)
• By Religious Cults
  • According to an article in Forbes Magazine, scientologists believe that Earth was invaded by space aliens 75 million years ago. (Honest!). For obvious reasons, they don't want the public to know about that, so they've copyrighted their "secret scriptures". They have gone to extreme lengths to prevent public discussion of their cult.
  • Time Magazine on Scientology This 1991 Time Magazine article prompted a furious lawsuit by the Church of Scientology was reportedly cost Time seventeen million dollars before Time finally won in 1996.
  • The Wall Street Journal on Scientology This 1997 article compares Scientology to a business, despite an unexplained 1993 reversal by the IRS allowing tax exemption.
  • Scientology and the Courts According to scientology founder L.Ron Hubbard, the purpose of litigation "is to harass and discourage rather than to win".
  • The Church of Scientology vs. the Net Ron Newman's page details Scientologist raids on the homes of their critics. Includes an exhaustive list of published articles.
  • The Church of Scientology vs. Penet In view of the harassment inflicted on their critics by scientologists, critics began to use an anonymous remailing service in Finland. This service, also used by victims of abuse and oppression, was shut down by it's operator after scientologists persuaded Finnish police to give them the name of one of those critics.
  • An Introduction To Scientology Modemac's Scientology page. Scientologist tactics have resulted in the creation of countless web sites.
  • Scientologists raid private homes, seize computers
  • Ex Parte Civil Seizures Here's the legal basis for the Church of Scientology's raids on private homes.
  • And it's legal...17 USC 503(a) Writ of Civil Seizure And here's the statute that allows for it.
  • Scientology in Germany In Germany, scientology is treated as a scam. But John Travolta has testified before congress that German prosecution of scientologist fraud should be treated as religious persecution. Tom Cruise films have been boycotted in Germany because of his affilitation with the cult.
• By Businesses
  • Prohibited Web Links The Electronic Frontiers Georgia page, concerns businesses seeking to prohibit web page publishers from linking to their pages.
  • Attack of the Slamming Sites The Web lets you sell. The Web lets you advertise. But it's a two-way street. Anyone from a disgruntled former employee to a dissatisfied customer can spread his or her own messages.
  • Northwest Airlines searches home computers Nothwest Arilines managed to get a court order permitting them to search the home computers of union organizers.
  • Cybersitter Censors its Critics Some useful advice to parents from VTW and ZD, BUT Cybersitter apparently is using its parental control software to censor more than just pornography.
  • Web Wars Fox asks fan to remove Millenium fan page, K-Mart threatens ISP over unflattering page, the Church of Scientology sues.
  • HMOs Health Management Organizations routinely threaten to fire doctors who tell their patients the truth
  • Product Disparagement Statutes are attempts by producers of perishable food products to silence criticism of their products. One notorious case involved Oprah Winfrey, whose discussion of the practice of feeding dead cows to other cows offended Texas cattlemen.
  • The Shetland News An electronic journal provides links to a print journal's web pages; is publication of an address plagiarism?
  • Copyright FAQ A series of links to treatises and statutes concerning copyright law.
  • Intellectual Law Primer For multimedia and web developers; what the Copyright Act means.
  • Does West Publishing "own" the Law? West claims copyright on US court decisions. The government and courts have upheld this copyright. Competitors a prevented from publishing court decisions using standard citations required by courts.
    • Taxpayer Assets Project A number of entrepeneurs are claiming copyright on public data.
    • West Publishing and the Courts The Minneapolis Star-Tribune articles on West Publishing
    • Does West Publishing buy the Law? West runs its own PAC.
    • Attempts to copyright data collected from other sources were overruled by Feist vs. Rural Telephone 499 US 340
    • But there are currently attempts to bypass this ruling by means of an international treaty. See WIPO