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Free Speech X-Press
Delivering Weekly Censorship Updates to the Adult Industry
Vol. VI, No. 18, March 19, 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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SAVE THE DATE! NIGHT OF THE STARS - JULY 24
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FEDS SEEK EASIER INTERNET WIRETAPS
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Justice Department has sent a petition
to the FCC asking that Internet broadband and online telephone
providers be treated the same as traditional telephone companies,
which are required by law to provide access for wiretaps
and other monitoring of voice communications. The DOJ, as
well as the DEA and the FBI, complain that many providers
do not comply with existing wiretap rules and that rapidly
changing technology is limiting the government's ability
to track terrorists and other threats.
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA),
enacted in 1994, required telecommunications companies
to rewire their networks so police could
have access for wiretaps and other surveillance measures. But law enforcement
officials and privacy advocates have argued in recent years about whether the
law should apply to such newer-generation technologies as Internet telephone
and broadband services.
The problem the FBI faces is that it cannot identify and
break down information that travels as packets of data
over the Internet. Phone calls placed over
the Internet are changed from voice signals into data packets that look much
like other data packets that contain e-mail or instructions for browsing the
Internet.
But privacy and technology experts said the proposal is overly
broad and raises serious privacy concerns. James X. Dempsey,
executive director of the Center
for Democracy & Technology, said the FBI is attempting to dictate how the
Internet should be engineered to permit whatever level of surveillance law
enforcement deems necessary.
"The breadth of what they are asking for is a little breathtaking,"
Dempsey said. "The question is, how deeply should the
government be able to control
the design of the Internet?"
From Dan Eggen and Jonathan Krim, Washington Post, 3/13/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54512-2004Mar12.html
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FTC CHAIR DOUBTS "DO NOT SPAM" IDEA
WASHINGTON, DC -- Federal Trade Commission Chair Timothy
Muris has announced that he does not think the FTC can come
up with a way to enforce a "do-not-spam" list of e-mail
addresses. The federal "Can Spam" legislation that went
into effect
January 1 encourages the agency to create a list similar
to the their popular do-not-call registry that blocks unwanted
phone calls from telemarketers. The FTC is due to submit
a report to congress by mid-June on the idea.
Muris was skeptical about the idea before the law was passed.
"I've seen nothing to change my mind," said Muris. The
problem, he said, is tracking down the spammers. Many
are overseas. Many use aliases or conceal
their identities by routing e-mail through hacked or unprotected computers.
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) said the list is the last
hope for consumers who are tired of spam.
"Nothing else has worked so far in the effort to blast
spam," Schumer said. "We're counting on and expecting
the FTC to go all out in its efforts
to
come up with a way to make this registry work."
Muris said new tools, such as applying a fee to send e-mails,
may have to be explored. Microsoft's Bill Gates, among
others, has suggested
the idea
of buying
"stamps" for e-mail as a way of fighting spam.
From Jennifer C. Kerr, Associated Press, 3/12/04
http://www.baltimoresun.com/technology/ats-ap_technology16mar12,0,
2827530.story?coll=sns-technology-headlines
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HOUSE PASSES BROADCAST INDECENCY BILL
WASHINGTON, DC -- Every week since the controversial Super
Bowl halftime show we have reported on the escalating over-reaction
in House and Senate committees, both proposing draconian
penalties for indecency in television and radio broadcasting.
Now the entire House has voted, 391 to 22, to raise fines
to an atmospheric $500,000 for the holders of broadcast licenses
and for entertainers. Presently the maximum fine is $27,500
for companies and $11,000 for performers. The measure would
also force the Federal Communications Commission to act more
quickly on complaints and move to revoke the licenses of
repeat offenders. Twenty-one Democrats and one Republican
opposed the bill, saying that the measure threatened free
speech and was a case of the government's trying to intercede
on behalf of viewers who can make their own choices.
"They can change the channel," said Representative Gary
L. Ackerman (D-NY). "They can change the station. They
can turn it off."
A similar measure emerging in the Senate has at least the
savings grace that it would block White House plans to
allow large media companies to add outlets,
a debate that helped stall a major spending bill last year. To go to the
president, a Senate bill would have to be reconciled with the House measure.
Some House Democrats were angry that they had been denied
an opportunity to offer a similar amendment to limit
consolidation.
"What are we doing about the concentration of power in
the media?" asked Henry A. Waxman (D-CA).
From Carl Hulse, The New York Times, 3/12/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/12/politics/12INDE.html
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IN THE MEANTIME, UNDERSTANDABLY, SHOCK JOCKS COOL IT
CHICAGO, IL -- Chicago shock jock Mancow Muller, who was
recently slapped with a $42,000 fine by the Federal Communications
Commission for a 2001 parody of the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky
sex scandal, says he has toned down his show.
"This has been devastating," Muller says. "Hit music, commercials,
anything sexual. I'm dumping it. The rules are not clear,
but I'm not taking any chances."
Muller is not alone. The FCC is aggressively increasing
enforcement. Last week it proposed a $247,500 fine against
Washington, D.C.-based Elliot in
the Morning
for "graphic and explicit materia" while discussing porn star Ron Jeremy.
Howard Stern now spends most days attacking the FCC, President
Bush and Clear Channel. He tells his 8 million listeners
that we're in a "culture
war" and
urges them to dump Bush. "This will be my payback," he has declared.
Instead of cracking down on radio, says WBZ's David Brudnoy
in Boston, "The government ought to deal with things
like protecting us from al-Qaeda
and
making sure the economy works. It's like the church going against
same-sex marriages
instead of dealing with abusive priests."
From Peter Johnson, USA Today, 3/17/04
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2004-03-17-shock-jocks_x.htm
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CAN ONE PERSON MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
NEW YORK, NY -- Civil rights attorney Carl E. Person, on
behalf of himself as a listener, and millions of other listeners,
has filed papers with the FCC in the penalty proceedings
against Clear Channel Communications and Infinity Broadcasting.
Person feels that if the public doesn't intervene now regarding
fines for Bubba the Love Sponge and WKRK/Detroit's Deminski & Doyle,
then Howard Stern will be the next casualty.
"If Howard Stern is taken off the air, I feel that my First
Amendment rights are being violated too," Person said.
Person claims that he, as a listener, has standing to assert
First Amendment rights to have shows such as The Howard
Stern Show available for him and
18,000,000 other listeners, unless the federal courts hear and determine
otherwise, using
a properly-adopted, specified obscenity or indecency standard.
"Clearly, this is a violation of the First Amendment and
Due Process rights of Infinity Broadcasting, Clear Channel
Communications, Howard Stern, myself
and Stern's other 18,000,000 listeners," Person said of the FCC's indecency
crackdown. He says the crackdown "imposes a prior restraint on the broadcasters
and prevents them from having access to the courts to obtain any relief,
and also appears to be a highly selective, discriminatory and arbitrary
enforcement of newly-created FCC obscenity and indecency standards to
curry favor with
the religious right."
Person is getting involved because he says the radio companies
are unable to appeal the fines themselves out of fear
that the FCC will strip their
licenses
away if they do.
From radio industry news FMQB, 3/15/04
http://www.fmqb.com/Article.asp?id=20983
Legal documents at: www.lawmall.com/hs.
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BASKETBALL TEAM FIRES CHEERLEADER
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- Lindsey Marshal, 19, has been fired from
the NBA's Toronto Raptors Dance Pak after the club discovered
she has an adults-only Website. According to Tony Edwards,
a proprietor of Avenue Blue, the Web host, Marshal was very
distressed.
"She was upset because she's very hardworking and very committed
and diligent," Edwards said. "She used this as an opportunity
to fund her ambition, her real
desire to be a professional dancer."
When the Dance Pak performs at Raptors' games their dances
are sometimes provocative, but the organization is mindful
that there are families and young people at
the games, said Jim Roe, the Raptors' event operations director.
"We definitely want the Dance Pak to be appealing and sexy
and that's part of the package. This just takes it too
far and it does not fit with our values,"
said Roe.
Edwards said Marshal would keep chasing her dream of being
a professional dancer despite the firing. He said that
there are successful entertainers who have
overcome similar issues.
"She's going to continue to pursue her career and hopefully
this won't be a black mark on it," he said. "I can't see
how it would be."
From Jennifer Quinn, The Toronto Star, 3/17/04
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/
Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1079478612061&call_pageid=970599119419
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UpComing Events
MAR 24-27, 2004 -- Nightclub and Bar Owners' Expo Las
Vegas http://www.nightclub.com
APR 1 - 3, 2004 -- The Phoenix Forum -- Doubletree La Posada
Resort, Scottsdale, AZ http://www.thephoenixforum.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, 2004 Erotica L.A., -- Los Angeles, CA http://www.erotica-la.com/
JUL 7 11, 2004 -- Lifestyles West -- Stardust Hotel, Las
Vegas, http://lifestyles-convention.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.
