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From: cosell@bbn.com (Bernie Cosell)
Newsgroups: comp.org.eff.talk
Subject: Re: Computer Porn? Aaaaagh!
Message-ID: <63349@bbn.BBN.COM>
Date: 21 Mar 91 12:07:54 GMT
References: <1991Mar18.223347.45852@vaxb.acs.unt.edu>
Sender: news@bbn.com
Lines: 45

cirby@vaxb.acs.unt.edu (((((C.Irby))))) writes:

}Well, it's happening again...

Wha'ts happening again??

}I was watching the news tonight (a local channel), and they had
}a story about pornography (gasp!) on computers (gasp! gasp!).

}The central thought of the story was that children might get to see
}some pornographic images (they called them "videos") by logging onto
}a BBS and downloading some GIFs.

}They covered the subject of BBS membership by talking to some guy who
}told the reporters about all of the adult boards out there, and that
}some of them were homosexual in content.  He also said that there were
}child pornography BBSes, but never gave examples...

}Here's the good part: the whole story was built on "maybe."

What is that the good part?  All of the allegations are *true*, right?
For good or ill, it is quite illegal to distribute "pornography" to
minors in almost any circumstance [and even to adults in some].  People
who run an 'adult book store' have a positive duty to prevent that
material from selling their wares to minors, why should a BBS operator
be any different?  Or are you arguing that one should be exempt from
obeying the laws simply because one is on the other side of a modem?


}I can hear the outraged parents ripping modems out of the wall already.

}...and the District Attorneys calling up Arizona for tips on prosecuting
}computer crime...

I don't understand, again: many parents *DO* believe that they should
have some control over what their children learn about sex.  Is that so
crazy?

And since I think the activity almost certainly is illegal, why
shouldn't the DA be involved?  We can discuss whether the laws on
pornography, and specifically its distribution to minors, make any
sense, but your content-free, seemingly ill informed mocking hardly
adds anything worthwhile to that discussion.

  /Bernie\