This newsletter is sent free of charge to FSC
members and supporters. For personal contact, call 1-800-476-7813.
Free Speech X-Press
Delivering Weekly Censorship Updates to the Adult Industry
Vol. VI, No. 17, March 12, 2004 -- A Member Service of the
Free Speech Coalition
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Free Speech X-press is researched and edited by Kat Sunlove
and Layne Winklebleck.
Copyright 2004 Free Speech Coalition. Permission to reprint
granted to FSC members; please give credit.
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VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR FSC MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
http://www.freespeechcoalition.com
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SIGN UP NOW FOR LOBBYING DAYS
It’s time to sign up for Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying Days 2004, to be held
on Monday and Tuesday, April 26-27, in Sacramento. If you have previously taken
the training, you are invited to join us on Monday morning for a brief review
and update on legislation, as well as for Tuesday’s lobbying activities.
Monday evening we will host our popular Legislative Reception
and this notice is an official invitation to our adult
entertainment stars to join us at the
reception, even if you’ve never attended CFSLD before. There you’ll meet
other lobbyists, state legislators and their staff and
have a chance to demonstrate
to them just how bright and articulate so many of our performers really are.
Please don’t delay in responding to this invitation, as
we must finalize plans soon. Call Kat Sunlove toll-free
at 1-866-FSC-9373 or e-mail Sunlove@inreach.com.
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MAJOR ANTI-SPAM LAWSUITS FILED
CALIFORNIA, GEORGIA, VIRGINIA, WASHINGTON -- EarthLink, Microsoft,
Yahoo and America Online have filed lawsuits in four states
against hundreds of e-mail marketers, working together to
track down defendants and make sure that their lawsuits do
not overlap. Six suits, filed in federal courts, claim the
defendants obscured their identities and used other deceptive
tactics to send out hundreds of millions of pitches for get-rich-quick
schemes, pornography and other types of spam.
Company officials said the CAN-SPAM Act, passed last year,
makes their fight easier by imposing national standards
and increasing penalties to force spammers
out of business. Much of the behavior specified in the lawsuits is specifically
outlawed by CAN-SPAM.
"The lawsuits we file now have some added punch they didn’t
have before," said AOL General Counsel Randall Boe.
Defendants falsified return addresses, routed their messages
through other computers to cover their tracks, and used
misleading subject lines like
“important message from AOL," the lawsuits charged. Many did not include
physical addresses
or a way to unsubscribe from the mailing list, as required by the law.
One group of defendants in Canada sent nearly 100 million
messages to Yahoo customers in January alone and resold
the e-mail addresses of those
who
asked to be taken off their mailing list, according to one lawsuit.
The civil suits filed by the e-mail providers seek unspecified
amounts of damages and penalties. Violators could also
face jail time under
the new
law, though
government prosecutors have filed no criminal charges yet.
From Andy Sullivan, Reuters, 3/10/04
http://news.findlaw.com/news/s/20040310/techspamdc.html
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INDECENCY BILL PASSES SENATE COMMITTEE
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Senate Commerce Committee has voted
to increase fines for indecency in broadcasting, from the
current $27,500 per incident to a maximum of $500,000 after
a third violation. The House version (see “Forbidden Words
Could Bring Huge Fines" in last weeks X-Press) allows for
a $500,000 fine after a first offense, and requires the FCC
to consider revoking a broadcaster’s license after three
violations. The Senate bill would require that license revocation
be
considered with any fines. It also allows the FCC to double
fines when the offending programming was planned in advance,
or if the audience was unusually large -- such as for a national
or international sporting or awards event.
Furthermore, both the House and Senate committee versions
would give the FCC the ability to impose the same fines
on artists as on broadcasters, if the
on-air talent willfully used indecent or profane language or images when
they knew it would be broadcast.
That provision provoked sharp reaction from the union representing
disc jockeys and other radio and television personalities,
which fears Congress and the
White House are hurtling toward censorship in an election-year frenzy to
curry favor with certain voting blocs.
"If you’re penalizing the person who is performing, because
the words come out of their mouths that has definite
First Amendment implications," said
Thomas
Carpenter, national director of news and broadcasting for the American
Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
Jack Myers, who publishes an independent newsletter about
the media industry, sees the recent moves in even darker
terms.
"The danger we face is when we are overly sensitive to
the protective right guard," Myers said. “We’ve elevated
Janet Jackson to a position
of glorification,
and we’re on the verge of making Howard Stern a martyr. We’re edging
toward a McCarthyism that strikes fear in the hearts of communications
companies."
By a narrow 12-11 vote, the Senate committee defeated a
provision that would have extended the FCC oversight
provisions of indecency
and violence
to cable
and satellite programming, except for pay-per-view channels such
as HBO.
From Jonathan Krim, The Washington Post, 3/10/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44871-2004Mar9_2.html
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IN THE MEANTIME, NOT TO BE OUTDONE
WASHINGTON, DC -- Conservative Democratic Senator Zell Miller
(GA) has introduced a bill (S-2147) that would fine broadcast
decency violators 25 cents per viewer or listener. Violators
would include artists, producers and networks. To put that
into perspective, the Janet Jackson flash would have resulted
in a $35 million fine. Monies generated by these fines would
go towards funding faith-based programs selected by the White
House’s Office of Faith Based Initiatives. The bill also has
provisions directing the FCC to establish a Council of Decency
of 3 ministers, 3 teachers and 3 media representatives to
advise the Commission on standards of decency.
From Communications Daily, 3/4/04
URL not available
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HOWARD STERN EXPECTS THE AXE
NEW YORK, NY -- Howard Stern has announced that he expects
to be forced off the radio within three months, the victim
of a political and financial campaign driven by religious
conservatives. He urged listeners to vote against President
George W. Bush in revenge.
"The plug is about to be pulled on me," he told his audience,
which he estimated at about 16 million listeners. “I’m
saying my goodbyes now. There’s nothing you
can do about it. Vote George Bush out of office. That’s all I ask. Remember
me when you go to the voting booth."
Until recently, Stern has stayed away from politics. “I
just want to do fart jokes and have stripper chicks in
here," he said.
Stern’s show, broadcast from WXRK/92.3 FM in New York,
was suspended February 24 from six stations owned by
radio giant Clear Channel Communications,
a Texas company whose owners are major backers of Bush. Infinity Broadcasting,
a subsidiary
of Viacom, syndicates Stern. When announcing the suspension, Clear Channel
CEO John Hogan cited a Stern incident in which a caller used a racial
slur while referring to African-American women. On Tuesday,
Senator Sam Brownback
(R-KS) wrote to Viacom president Mel Karmazin about Infinity’s lack of
action.
"In light of Infinity’s reported new indecency policy,
and the supposed use of a substantial time delay, I do
not understand how such a broadcast
could
be
aired using an Infinity broadcast license," wrote Brownback.
Stern said he expected Infinity to be forced to drop him
because of the threat of huge fines and possible loss
of broadcast licenses (see
stories
above).
"Mel will not be able to do business. The company will
try to fight back, but it won’t be able to. I’m heartbroken
about this."
From Peter Goodman, Newsday, 3/5/04
http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/ny-etrad0306,0,1782075
.story?coll=ny-entertainment-headlines
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CONSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES FEARED
WASHINGTON, DC -- FCC Chair Michael Powell, who helped inflame
public outrage over the Janet Jackson Super Bowl stunt, is
now expressing concerns about the fast moving congressional
crackdown. The proposed indecency legislation (see above
stories) could run afoul of free speech rights and undermine
the overall effort, said Powell.
"There are a number of things that give me pause because
I don’t want to see enforcement remedies being captured
by constitutional litigation," Powell said.
As an example he cited the idea that the new law would require the FCC to
hold a hearing to determine whether a broadcast license
should be revoked after
three violations.
"I think is an understandable idea but when you think it through, I can
imagine scenarios where it can be more problematic than not," he said.
Powell also expressed concerns that additional provisions,
like one in the Senate bill that would put new media
ownership rules on hold pending a review
of links between indecency and consolidation, could end up scuttling the
bill.
"It just seems to me we’ve probably got a lengthier process
and we may or may not get a bill at the end of the day,"
he said.
From Jeremy Pelofsky, Reuters, 3/10/04
http://news.findlaw.com/news/s/20040310/mediaindecencypowelldc.html
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"GIRLS GONE WILD" DEFENDANTS GET A BREAK
PANAMA CITY, FL -- Circuit Judge Michael C. Overstreet has
ruled that a videotape of an underage girl exposing her breasts
is not child pornography. The ruling came in a criminal case
against Joe Francis, Santa Monica producer of the “Girls
Gone Wild" video series, and several of his employees.
Overstreet made his decision when he decided to allow defense
lawyers to copy confiscated videotapes. Prosecutors had
tried to prevent the copying on grounds
that a videotape showing a girl flashing her breasts was illegal child pornography.
However, Florida’s child pornography law requires sexual conduct and defines
that term to include physical contact. There was no physical contact in the
video.
Francis and his employees were arrested at Panama City
Beach while filming during spring break last year. Bay
County sheriff’s deputies charged Francis
with racketeering related to prostitution and other crimes based largely
on videotapes of girls under 18. Many of the 43 counts Francis faces hinge
on
what conduct is considered child pornography.
"This ruling shows that the entire fabric of that claim
is wrong," said defense lawyer Aaron Dyer of Los Angeles.
Dyer said he expected the ruling
to undermine
at least 90 percent of the case.
Prosecutors contend Francis and his video crew enticed
girls they knew were underage to expose themselves. The
defendants deny the allegation
and say
the girls had lied about their ages.
From The Associated Press, 3/9/04
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-girls-gone-wild,0,
3325535.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines
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UpComing Events
MAR 24-27, 2004 -- Nightclub and Bar Owners Expo Las
Vegas, http://www.nightclub.com
APR 26-27, 2004 - Celebrate Free Speech Lobbying
Days,
Sacramento, CA, 866-FSC-9373
JUN 9-12 - Cybernet Expo, San Diego, CA www.cybernetexpo.com
JUN 18-20 - Erotica L.A., Los Angeles,
CA http://www.erotica-la.com/
JUL 24, 2004 - Night of the Stars Sheraton Universal Hotel
Los Angeles, CA - 866-FSC-9373
AUG 13-15, 2004 - Internext -- Westin Diplomat
Hollywood, Florida www.Internext-expo.com
Subscriptions to Free Speech X-Press are FREE to FSC members.
Contact us at Sunlove@direcway.com or 800-476-7813.
