Free Speech and Dreams on the Net
Proposals for Internet Projects in the Field of Dreams
If you didn't realize that the new Telecommunications Act of 1996 had any thing to do with dreams, you might want to read this. While the Act mostly contains long overdue reform that will increase global access options and make for a better lifestyle, the tacked on Section 223 about what is indecent and illegal in Cyberspace is so broad that it covers online discussion of dreams that refer to not only to sexual acts and body orifices but also to mentions of abortion. The authors claim that the intention was to protect children from pornography, but it technically makes all online discussion in these topics a criminal act. Some large commercial carriers have already tried to blocked access, though most have now moved to more reasonable parent-blocking solutions.
Whatever your position on this historic Act may be, you can find out more online. There is a resource guide available.
Updates on the Right to Share Dream Text in Cyberspace
JUNE 12, 1996: A Philadelphia federal court has struck down a law today that would have criminalized constitutionally protected speech on the Internet and other online forums.
"Just as the strength of the Internet is chaos, so the strength of our liberty depends upon the chaos and cacophony of the unfettered speech the First Amendment protects,"
Philadelphia Federal Judges Panel.
The Full text of decision
"As the most participatory form of mass speech yet developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from government intrusion."
"Plaintiffs have introduced ample evidence that the challenged provisions, if not enjoined, will have a chilling effect on their free expression."
-- ACLU v. Reno, No. 96-963 (E.D. Pa.)
An Easy to Read Version of the decision From the Electronic Privacy Information Center
PRESS RELEASE Electronic Frontier Foundation
C|NET TIMETABLE OF DECENCY ACT
If you find that your service provider is blocking access to the newsgroups on dreams and dreaming, you can bypass this by :
- Downloading one of the freely available Usenet readers via the Web, such as Free Agent for the PC ftp://ftp.forteninc.com/pub/free_agent/fagnet10.zip or NewsWatcher for Macs ftp://ftp.acns.nwu.edu/pub/newswatcher/
- Via the Web, find an Internet site that offers public access to Usenet. There is a list of these at http://dana.ucc.nau.edu/~jwa/open-sites.html
- Establish a PPP connection to the Internet via your commercial service or ISP provider. On AOL you will need to download the Winsock program to allow this. (Keyword: Winsock) On CompuServe they provide a CompuServe Dialer.
- Start the Usenet reader program and point to the chosen address. You will now have the option of reading the dream newsgroups of your choice, be that alt.dreams, alt.dreams.lucid or even the scandalous alt.dreams.castaneda.
More information can also be found at:
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Page design, Richard Wilkerson -
rcwilk@dreamgate.com
