drazen@xs4all.nl: freedom of speech - different angle

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Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 23:29:58 -0400
To: nettime@desk.nl
From: Drazen Pantic <drazen@xs4all.nl>
Subject: freedom of speech - different angle


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 1999

EFF Launches Online Campaign to Support Digital Audio Free Expression
John Perry Barlow Kicks Off Campaign at MP3 Summit During Keynote

CONTACT:
Alex Fowler, Electronic Frontier Foundation
(415) 902-0961; afowler@eff.org


SAN DIEGO, CA -- To support the evolution of music distribution from the
physical to digital realm, the Electronic Frontier Foundation is launching
a new online campaign to preserve the public's ability to exercise all
lawful uses of music and digital audio equipment.  The campaign, part of
EFF's new Consortium for Audiovisual Free Expression (CAFE), is being
kicked off Tuesday at the MP3 Summit '99 in San Diego.

"Online music fans should not be forced to relinquish important rights like
fair use and free speech because others fear they will abuse those rights,"
said Tara Lemmey, EFF's Executive Director.  "EFF supports the development
of an open digital audio architecture that respects the public's long
standing legal rights under copyright and international standards of free
expression."

"You cannot own free speech," added John Perry Barlow, EFF co-founder and
lyricist for the Grateful Dead.  He will officially launch EFF's online
public education campaign during his keynote presentation at the premiere
industry event backing the open distribution of MP3s.

"Many folks in the music industry might not know this," said Lemmey, "but
EFF has helped pave the way for today's explosion in MP3s and other
audiovisual content on the Internet through ongoing challenges of
restrictions placed on content and computer security."

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has successfully challenged legislation
that restricted online expression, such as the Communications Decency Act
of 1996 (CDA) and the Child Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA).  Most
recently, EFF achieved a major victory in its legal challenge of the US
government's controls on encryption technology, on the grounds that it is
an unconstitutional restriction to free expression guaranteed by the First
Amendment.  Encryption is the technical means for protecting privacy, data
integrity, and intellectual property on the Internet.

In 1996, EFF launched the Blue Ribbon Campaign against the CDA, which
resulted in hundreds of thousands of Web sites all over the world
displaying the Blue Ribbon and linking to EFF Web pages containing
information about censorship legislation and free speech on the Internet.
The Blue Ribbon page became the fourth most-linked-to site on the Internet
and has been accessed millions of times.

Using the Blue Ribbon Campaign as a model, the new CAFE campaign informs
the public of their legal rights as well as their responsibilities
regarding MP3 files and other digital audiovisual content.  The campaign
brings together artists, technologists, and consumers, creating a network
of concerned people who want to see the highest standards of free
expression built into the architecture for digital distribution of audio.

Complete information on the campaign is located at http://www.eff.org/cafe,
including informational articles and recommended actions.  See
http://www.eff.org/cafe/EFF_audio_statement.html for EFF's policy paper on
digital audio free expression.  See http://www.mp3.com/summit/summit.html
for information on the MP3 Summit '99.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (http://www.eff.org) is the leading
global organization linking technical architectures and legal frameworks to
support the rights of individuals in an open society.  Founded in 1990, EFF
actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free
expression, privacy, and access in the information society.  The Electronic
Frontier Foundation maintains the 4th most-linked-to Web site in the world.