From: hendersn@zeta.org.au (Zed)
Date: Sat, 15 Jun 1996 19:34:35 +0800
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Re: Remailer Operator Liability?
Message-ID: <199606150753.RAA03617@godzilla.zeta.org.au>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


>	Now that the CDA decision has been made, I was wondering how this
>would affect the liability status of the various remailer operators? In
>the past several remailers have opted to discontinue service due to
>legal/political pressure. Will this CDA decision help to decrease remailer
>operator liability?

Unlikely. The use of anonymous remailers was given as a reason for why it
was impossible to effectively determine if indecent material was being
distributed to a minor who was using a nym. I think pressure on anonymous
remailers is going to increase as various groups complain that the paw
innocent widdle kiddies are "vulnerable to corruption"(or some bullshit like
that) because their age can be hidden. Read the decision. The CDA _may_ be
declared constitutional if there was an effective and reliable way of
preventing minors from accessing "indecent" material - which anonymous
remailers make harder to do.

On another front, anonymous remailers were brought up in the latest hearing
of the Church of Scientology's court case against Dennis Erlich. Judge Whyte
expressed concern that trade secret status could be destroyed simply by
posting information through an anonymous remailer. Of course, the Church
dearly wants those concerns to be considered valid in law. I expect Whyte to
set a precedent concerning anonymous remailers sometime soon, and it is
unlikely to be a good one.
  Zed(hendersn@zeta.org.au)
"Don't hate the media, become the media" - Jello Biafra
  PGP key on request