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From: lat@stcvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: Re: BBS Confiscation
Message-ID: <273@stcvax.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 24-May-84 13:11:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: stcvax.273
Posted: Thu May 24 13:11:27 1984
Date-Received: Mon, 28-May-84 05:40:41 EDT
References: <1091@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Organization: Storage Technology Corp.  Louisville, CO
Lines: 25

A few people have mentioned the 1st amendment regarding this issue.
That amendment does not guarantee you the right to say just anything
anywhere, regardless of the medium, etc.

Like just about everyone else on the net, I must warn you that I'm
not a lawyer and so I don't really know all the details.  However, a
conversation or communication to commit a crime is classified as a
conspiracy.  The level of the conspiracy is, I believe, the same as
that of the crime under discussion.  This means that if you and I are
standing on the street corner making plans to jay walk, it could
technically be considered a conspiracy to commit a misdemeanor
(or however jay-walking is classified).  If we were talking about
plans to murder someone, or to rob a bank, it would be a felony.  I
think the discussion in telecom about blue boxes might have been
in the conspiracy category.

Regarding publishing plans for atomic bombs, that issue would depend
on how the information was classified by the government.  If I remember
correctly the original posting was from information that was all
declassified and in the public domain.  To that extent it would then
be like publishing the plans to build a rifle, which is no less of a
weapon.  I'm probably on more shakey ground here.
-- 
{decvax, hao}!stcvax!lat				Larry Tepper
{allegra, amd70, ucbvax}!nbires!stcvax!lat		303-673-5435