Fall 2001 CyberSpace
Free Speech in Cyberspace
Fall 2001
Professor Jack M. Balkin
Provisional Syllabus
1. Regulating Online Speech– Technological End Runs
Readings
Hate Speech– or, How easy is the Net to Regulate?
- The Internet’s New Borders (The Economist)
- Putting it in its Place (The Economist)
- Naughton, Yahoo! for Brave French Courts
- McCarthy, Yahoo Expert Backtracks
- Translation of Superior Court of Paris Opinion in LICRA and UEJF v. Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo! France (The Yahoo! Case)
- McCarthy, U.S. Judge to Rule on Internet
- CDT Discussion of Jurisdictional Issues in Yahoo! Case
- Effect of French Court Order on California Company is Sufficient to Confer Jurisdiction
- French Human Rights Group Sues ISP’s Over Failure to Censor U.S.-Based Hate Site (Action Internationale pour la Justice v. GCI Case)
- Lee, U.S. May Help Chinese Evade Net Censorship
What is a “True Threat” on the Internet?
-
Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette v. American Coalition of Life Activists, 244 F. 3d. 1007 (9th Cir 2001)(The “Nuremberg Files” Case) [Alternate version]
- Mirror of Nuremburg Files Web Site Alternate Version
- Volokh, A Lesson About Free Speech from the “Nuremberg Files” Web Site Case
- Morris, The “Nuremberg Files” Web Site: What Constitutes an Online Threat?
- Andrews, When is a Threat “Truly” a Threat Lacking First Amendment Protection? A Proposed True Threats Test to Safeguard Free Speech Rights in the Age of the Internet
- United States v. Alkhabaz,104 F. 3d 1492 (6th Cir. 1997) (The “Jake Baker” Case)
- Background on the Jake Baker Case
Additional Readings
2. On-line Liability: Defamation, Collateral Censorship, and Anonymity
Readings
Anonymous Speech
- Wallace: Nameless in Cyberspace: Anonymity on the Internet
- McIntyre v. Ohio State Elections Commission
- Elstein, AOL Sides with Anonymous Posters
- McVeigh v. Cohen, 983 F. Supp. 215 (D.D.C. 1998)
- In re 2TheMart Securities Litigation (Doe v. 2TheMart.com, Inc., 140 F.Supp. 2d 1088 (W.D. Wash. 2001))
Defamation and Collateral Censorship
- Cubby v. Compuserve, 776 F. Supp. 135 (S.D.N.Y. 1991)
- Stratton Oakmont v. Prodigy Services, Co, 1995 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 229, 1995 WL 323710, 23 Media L. Rep. 1794 (N.Y. Sup. Ct. May 24, 1995)
- Internet Service Provider Liability Exception 47 USC §230
- Zeran v. America Online (4th Cir. 1997) [Alternate version]
- Blumenthal v. Drudge, 992 F.Supp. 44 (D.D.C. 1998) [Alternate version]
- Kathleen R. v. City of Livermore,87 Cal.App. 4th 684 (2001)
- Felix Somm (Compuserve) Case
- Summary of Digital Millennium Copyright Act Liability Provisions
Additional Readings
3. Is Software Speech?
Encryption
-
Bernstein v. U.S. Dept. of Justice, 176 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 1999) [additional version]
- Junger v. Daley, 209 F.3d 481 (6th Cir 2000) [Westlaw]
- Lee Tien, Publishing Software as a Speech Act
- Robert C. Post, Encryption Source Code and the First Amendment
DeCSS
-
Source Code As Speech Amicus Brief in 2600 Case (Universal City Studios v. Reimerdes)
- Harvard Berkman Center Open Law DVD/DeCSS Frequently Asked Questions List
Links and Rights to Link
The Right to Link and Deep Linking
- Kaplan, Ticketmaster Sues Again Over Links
- Kaplan, Legality of “Deep Linking” Remains Deeply Complicated
4. Distribution Architectures: Open Access and Freedom of Speech
Readings
- FTC Consent Orders, AOL-TimeWarner Merger
- MediaOne Group, Inc. v. County of Henrico, Virginia, 2001 WL 78886 C.A.4 (Va.),2001.
- AT&T Corp. v. City of Portland, 216 F.3d 871 C.A.9 (Or.),2000 [Alternate version]
- Broward County Open Access Ordinance held to violate First Amendment
- Comcast v. Broward County, 124 F.Supp.2d 685 (S.D. Fla. 2000)
- Marsh v. Alabama, 326 US 501 (1946)
- Harmon, Worries About Big Brother at America Online
- AOL Rules of User Conduct
Additional links
-
Internet Freedom and Broadband Deployment Act of 2001 (Tauzin-Dingell Bill)
- Time Warner v. FCC , 240 F.3d 1126 (D.C. Cir. 2001)(applying heightened scrutiny to ownership restrictions)
- Daniel Rubinfeld & Hal J. Singer, Open Access to Broadband Networks: A Case Study of the AOL/Time Warner Merger,16 Berk. Tech LJ 2, 631 (2001)
5. Intellectual Property and Freedom of Speech
Readings
Copyright
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994)
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act, H.R. 2281
- SunTrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin (“The Wind Done Gone” Case)(lower court opinion)
- SunTrust Bank v. Houghton Mifflin (11th Cir 2001)(vacating preliminary injunction)
- Eldred v. Reno, 99-5430 (D.C. Cir 2000) [additional version] [additional version]
- Worldwide Church of God v. Philadelphia Church of God, 227 F.3d 1110 (1999)
- Mark A. Lemley and Eugene Volokh, Freedom of Speech and Injunctions in Intellectual Property Cases, 48 Duke L.J. 2 (1998)
- Neil Netanel, Locating Copyright Law Within the First Amendment Skein, 54 Stanford L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2001)
- Fan Fiction Links
Database Protection and Freedom of Speech
- Database Legal Protection
- Benkler, Constitutional Bounds of Database Protection: The Role of Judicial Review in the Creation and Definition of Private Rights in Information, 15 Berkeley L. & Tech. J. (2000).
Additional Readings
-
Siva Vaidyanathan, Copyrights and Copywrongs, Chapter 4 (“Hep Cats and Copycats”)
- Siva Vaidyanathan, Copyrights and Copywrongs, Chapter 5 (“The Digital Moment”)
- Jessica Litman, Free Speech and Electronic Commerce
- Eric S. Raymond, The Cathedral and the Bazaar
- John Perry Barlow, The Economy of Ideas
6. Legal Protection for Anticircumvention Technologies– The DeCSS Controversy
- Universal Studios v. Reimerdies 82 F. Supp. 2d 211 (S.D.N.Y. 2000) [Alternate version]
- Universal Studios v. Corley (2d Cir. 2001)
- U. S. v. Sklyarov FAQ
Additional Readings
7. Trademarks. Domain Names, and Freedom of Speech
Readings
- http://fuckgeneralmotors.com/
- Kaplan, Hacker Gadfly at Center of New Suit
- Kaplan, Does a Parody Site Go Too Far? (re: Doughney v. Peta)
- Domain Name Rights Coalition
- San Francisco Arts and Athletics, Inc., v. U.S. Olympic Committee, 483 U.S. 522 (1987)
- L.L. Bean, Inc. v. Drake Publishers, Inc., 811 F.2d 26 (1st Cir. 1987)
- Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. v. Faber, 29 F. Supp. 2d 1161 (C.D. Cal. 1998)
- Jews for Jesus v. Brodsky, 993 F. Supp. 282 (D.C.N.J. 1998).
- Playboy Enterprises v. Netscape Communications Corp., 55 F. Supp. 2d 1070 (C.D. Cal. 1999).
- Name.space, Inc v. Network Solutions, Inc., 202 F.3d 573 (2d Cir. 2000).
- National A-1 Adver., Inc. v. Network Solutions, Inc., 121 F. Supp. 2d 156 (D.C.N.H. 2000).
- OBH, Inc. v. Spotlight Magazine, Inc., 86 F. Supp. 2d 176 (W.D.N.Y. 2000).
- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Doughney, 2001 U.S. App. LEXIS 19028 (4th Cir.).
- ICANN Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy
- WIPO Arbitration and Mediation, Bruce Springsteen v. Jeff Burgar and Bruce Springsteen Club, Case No. D2000-1532
8. Privacy and Freedom of Speech
Readings
- Paul M. Schwartz, Free Speech v. Information Privacy: Eugene Volokh’s First Amendment Jurisprudence, 52 Stanford L. Rev. 1559 (2000) [additional location]
- US West v. FCC, 182 F.3d 1224 (CA10 1999)
- Videotape Privacy Protection (The Bork Bill)
- Bartnicki v. Vopper, 121 S.Ct. 1753 (2001)
- Abortioncams.com Website
Additional Readings
-
Bell, Internet Privacy and Self-Regulation: Lessons from the Porn Wars
- Colloquy between Peter Swire and Tom Bell
- Online Privacy Bill Introduced
- FTC Fair Information Practices in the Electronic Marketplace Report
- Robert W. Hahn, An Assessment of the Costs of Proposed Online Privacy Legislation
- Peter Swire, New Study Substantially Overstates Costs of Internet Privacy Protection
- OECD Privacy Guidelines (1980)
- Existing Federal Privacy Legislation
- The Privacy Act (1974)
- United States v. Scarfo (The Key Logging Case) Criminal No. 00-404 (D.N.J.)
- Order of the Court in United States v. Scarfo
- EPIC Resources on Carnivore
- S. 197, Spyware Control and Privacy Protection Act of 2001
- H.R. 89, Online Privacy Protection Act of 2001
- Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) Homepage
- EPIC and Junkbusters, Pretty Poor Privacy: An Assessment of P3P and Internet Privacy
- Smith, Web Bug FAQ
9. Regulating Obscene and Indecent Speech on the Internet
Readings:
“Community Standards” on the Internet
-
U.S. v. Thomas, 74 F. 3d 701 (6th Cir. 1996) (Milipitas bulletin board case) [Additional version]
- Voyeur Dorm v. City of Tampa, 265 F.3d 1232 (11th Cir. 2001)
Digitization of Child Pornography
-
Free Speech Coallition v. Reno, 198 F.3d 1083 (9th Cir. 1999) [Additional version]
- Free Speech Coallition v. Reno, rehearing denied, 220 F. 3d 1113 (9th Cir. 2000). [Additional version]
Regulation of Indecent Expression on the Internet
-
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation, 438 U.S. 726 (1978) [alternate version]
- Sable Communications of Cal., Inc. v. FCC, 492 U.S. 115
- Communications Decency Act (CDA)
- Reno v. ACLU (Reno I), 521 U.S. 844 (1997) (The CDA Case) [Additional version]
- ACLU v. Reno (Reno II), 217 F.3d 162 (3d Cir. 2000) (The COPA Case) [Additional version]
10. Filtering and Rating Architectures
Readings
- Balkin et al., Filtering the Internet, a Best Practices Model
- Lessig, What Things Regulate Speech
- Lessig, Testimony before COPA Commission
- COPA Commission Final Report
11. Mandatory Filtering in Schools and Libraries
Government Mandated Filtering
Mandatory Filtering in Schools and Libraries
-
Mainstream Loudoun v. Board Of Trustees Of Loudoun County Library, 24 F. Supp. 2d 552 (E.D. Va. 1998) [Additional source] [Additional source]
- Loudoun Library Board Decides Not to Appeal Filtering Decision
- Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)– Final Version
- Court Documents in ALA v. United States
- Complaint in Multnomah County Public Library vs.United States of America
- Urofsky v. Gilmore, (4th Cir. 2000)(en banc)
Additional Background Reading
- EFF ALA v. U.S. Archive
- EFF Censorware Page
- Mark S. Nadel, The First Amendment’s Limitations on the Use of Internet Filtering in Public and School Libraries: What Content Can Librarians Exclude? 78 Texas L. Rev. (2000)
12. Regulating Spam
- Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 17538.4, 17538.45 (2001) (California’s “Anti-Spam” Law)
- Ferguson v. Friendfinder, Inc.
- State v. Heckel
- CompuServe, Inc. v. Cyber Promotions, Inc. 962 F. Supp. 1015 (S.D. Oh. 1997) [Alternate version]
- Intel Corp. v. Hamidi, 1999 WL 450944 (Cal. Super. April 28, 1999) (not published)
- David Post, Of Blackholes and Decentralized Lawmaking in Cyberspace, 2 Vand. J. Ent. L. & Prac. 70 (2000)
- Cisneros, Yesmail Fights Blacklist, Wired, July 18, 2000
- Olson, Congress, Critics Wrinkle Noses at Anti-Spam Bills
- House Judiciary Committee Adopts Antispam Bill
Additional Readings:
- The Realtime Blackhole List’s Rationale
- Media3 Technologies v. MAPS and Vixie, 2001 U.S. Dist. Lexis 131– January 2, 2001
- Linx.org Best Current Practice for Combatting Unsolicited Bulk Email Version 1.0, May 18, 1999
- John Marshall Law School website on regulation of unsolicited email
- Ferguson v. Friendfinder, No. 307309 (Cal. Superior Ct. 2000)
- Amaditz, Canning “Spam” in Virginia: Model Legislation to Control Junk E-Mail, 4 Va. J. L & Tech. 4 (Spring 1999)
- Kaplan, An Argument for “Netiquette” Holds Up in Court
13. Democracy on the Internet
Readings:
Resources
Key First Amendment and Copyright Decisions
-
Abrams v. United States (1919)
- American Booksellers Association v. Hudnut (1985)
- Basic Books Inc v. Kinko’s Graphics Corp. (1991)
- Beauharnais v. Illinois (1952)
- Bigelow v. Virginia (1975)
- Board of Trustees of the State University of New York v. Fox (1989)
- Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969)
- Branzburg v. Hayes (1972)
- Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music (1994)
- CBS v. FCC (1981)
- Central Hudson Gas and Electric v. Public Service Commission (1980)
- Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942)
- Cohen v. California (1971)
- Cox Broadcasting v. Cohn (1975)
- Curtis Publishing Co. v. Butts (1967)
- FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)
- Feiner v. New York (1951)
- Florida Star v. B.J.F. (1989)
- Freedman v. Maryland (1965)
- Gallela v. Onassis (2nd Cir. 1973)
- Gertz v. Welch (1974)
- Ginzburg v. United States (1966)
- Grayned v. Rockford (1972)
- Hague v. CIO (1939)
- Harper and Row Publishers, Inc. v. Nation Enterprises (1985)
- Hustler v. Falwell (1988)
- Island Trees Union Free School District v. Pico (1982)
- Keyishian v. Board of Regents (1967)
- Lovell v. Griffin (1938)
- Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo (1974)
- Miller v. California (1973)
- National Broadcasting v. United States (1943)
- Near v. Minnesota (1931)
- Nebraska Press Association v. Stuart (1976)
- New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)
- New York Times v. United States (1971)
- New York v. Ferber (1982)
- Paris Adult Theatre I. v. Slaton (1973)
- Perry Education Association v. Perry Local Educators’ Association (1983)
- Pickering v. Board of Education (1968)
- Posadas de Puerto Rico Associates v. Tourism Company of Puerto Rico (1986)
- R.A.V. v. St. Paul (1992)
- Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969)
- Reno v. ACLU (1997)
- Rice v. Paladin Enterprises (4th Cir. 1997)
- Richmond Newspapers v. Virginia (1980)
- Rosenberger v. Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (1995)
- Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network of Western New York (1996)
- Stanley v. Georgia (1969)
- Terminiello v. Chicago (1949)
- Texas v. Johnson (1989)
- Turner Broadcasting v. FCC (1997)
- United States v. O’Brien (1968)
- United States v. Progressive (7th Cir. 1979)
- Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council (1976)
- Whitney v. California (1927)
- Wisconsin v. Mitchell (1993)
- Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting (1977)
Telecommunications Law
- Telecomunications Act of 1996
- Benton Foundation 1996 Act Homepage
- International Journal of Communications Law and Policy
Internet Civil Liberties and Democracy Sites
- World Wide Web Consortium
- Electronic Frontier Foundation
- Center for Democracy and Technology
- Electronic Privacy Information Center
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Voters Telecommunications Watch
- Benton Foundation
Freedom of Speech Sites
-
Boston College’s Library of Court Decisions for the Freedom of Speech in the U.S.
- EFF Online Censorship and Free Expression Page