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Cyhist Aug 27 1997 A
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========================================================================= Date: Wed, 27 Aug 1997 09:52:03 -0400
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Janet Abbate <jea@RCI.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Computer code as free speech
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Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
I saw this on Edupage (see below) and was struck by the court's argument that computer code constitutes free speech (in the American legal sense) and that government controls on software can therefore be considered "censorship". This seems like a bizarre interpretation of "speech," especially since the programs in question would probably be exported in binary form, which doesn't much resemble human language. Are there precedents for technical specifications being considered "free expression"? E.g., are wiring diagrams or architectural blueprints protected from "censorship" by government regulators?
>JUDGE RULES ENCRYPTION EXPORT CONTROLS VIOLATE FREE SPEECH A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the Clinton administration's recently revised restrictions on encryption software exports are unconstitutional. She had ruled an earlier version unconstitutional last December. The judge's decision was based on her belief that computer codes are a form of expression, "like music and mathematical equations," and that to restrict them would constitute a violation of free speech. In addition, the new regulations, like the old ones, set no timetables or standards for the government's licensing decision and fail to provide for judicial review. The ruling "will have a very large impact on U.S. leadership in the software industry and electronic commerce industry," says a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "and a huge impact on privacy rights for the next 100 years." (AP 26 Aug 97)
>
>************************************************************ Edupage, 26 August 1997. Edupage, a summary of news about information technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom, a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. To subscribe to Edupage:
>send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: subscribe edupage Dorothy Parker (if your name is Dorothy Parker; otherwise, substitute your own name). To unsubscribe send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: unsubscribe edupage. (If you have subscription problems, send mail to manager@educom.unc.edu.)
Janet Abbate
------------------------------------------------ IEEE History Center
Rutgers University
39 Union Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-5062
jea@rci.rutgers.edu
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jea/
______________________________________________________________________
Reply-To: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> Sender: "CYHIST Community Memory: Discussion list on the History of
Cyberspace" <CYHIST@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU> From: Janet Abbate <jea@RCI.RUTGERS.EDU>
Subject: Computer code as free speech
X-To: HTECH-L%SIVM.BITNET@cunyvm.cuny.edu
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
______________________________________________________________________
Community Memory: Discussion List on the History of Cyberspace ______________________________________________________________________
I saw this on Edupage (see below) and was struck by the court's argument that computer code constitutes free speech (in the American legal sense) and that government controls on software can therefore be considered "censorship". This seems like a bizarre interpretation of "speech," especially since the programs in question would probably be exported in binary form, which doesn't much resemble human language. Are there precedents for technical specifications being considered "free expression"? E.g., are wiring diagrams or architectural blueprints protected from "censorship" by government regulators?
>JUDGE RULES ENCRYPTION EXPORT CONTROLS VIOLATE FREE SPEECH A U.S. District Court judge has ruled that the Clinton administration's recently revised restrictions on encryption software exports are unconstitutional. She had ruled an earlier version unconstitutional last December. The judge's decision was based on her belief that computer codes are a form of expression, "like music and mathematical equations," and that to restrict them would constitute a violation of free speech. In addition, the new regulations, like the old ones, set no timetables or standards for the government's licensing decision and fail to provide for judicial review. The ruling "will have a very large impact on U.S. leadership in the software industry and electronic commerce industry," says a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, "and a huge impact on privacy rights for the next 100 years." (AP 26 Aug 97)
>
>************************************************************ Edupage, 26 August 1997. Edupage, a summary of news about information technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom, a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities seeking to transform education through the use of information technology. To subscribe to Edupage:
>send mail to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: subscribe edupage Dorothy Parker (if your name is Dorothy Parker; otherwise, substitute your own name). To unsubscribe send a message to: listproc@educom.unc.edu with the message: unsubscribe edupage. (If you have subscription problems, send mail to manager@educom.unc.edu.)
Janet Abbate
------------------------------------------------ IEEE History Center
Rutgers University
39 Union Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08903-5062
jea@rci.rutgers.edu
http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~jea/
______________________________________________________________________
