From: lord@tradent.wimsey.bc.ca (Jason Cooper)
Newsgroups: alt.bbs.allsysop
Subject: Re: *** LEGAL HELP WANTED ***
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 92 11:04:28 PST
Organization: TradeNET International Trade Corp.

mdh@genco.bungi.com (Michael Hackett) writes:

> In article <o87JwB1w165w@tradent.wimsey.bc.ca> lord@tradent.wimsey.bc.ca (Jas
> >Anybody here know if it is possible to request "common carrier status" 
> >for a BBS?  For those of you not familiar with this, or perhaps looking 
> >for an american equivalent, this status is granted to services such as 
> >radio stations and telephone companies, and absolves them of all 
> >responsibility for what happens to transpire through their services.  I'm 
> >wondering if I can apply for this for my bulletin board so that I am not 
> >held responsible for pirated files that rest on my drive though I don't 
> >use them.  I don't see why this WOULDN'T be granted, but I'm wondering if 
> >anybody out there has done this or knows how I might go about doing so.
> 
> 	_VERY_ interesting idea, Jason.  I recently read an article in
> "Forbes" magazine, in which there was a short paragraph about the fact
> that there have been a number of hackers whose equipment has been taken
> by US law enforcement, and though no charges have ever been pressed,
> they've never recieved their systems back.
> 
> 	I don't know that "common carrier status" couldn't exist for
> BBS systems, and I do like the idea, but it could be used as a way of
> protecting yourself if you are a pirate.	r
> 
> 	If you were a pirate, and got "common carrier status" for putting
> up a BBS, then what would keep you from being able to pirate and then if
> caught, claim that it was placed on your system somehow through the
> 
> BBS?  QKI
> *3|	I like the idea of the status, but with the way the US government
> is coming down on hackers in the US..it's unlikely that such a thing would
> be granted easily to even those who could honestly use the protection.
> 
> 	I don't know how to go about getting it, but I would suggest
> talking with someone who has the status and then going to whomever they
> suggest to follow up.  If you find out about what to do, post it!  I'll
> be putting up a BBS shortly, and would be interested in this sorta thing
> if I can get it.
> 
> "Be well..."
>   Michael
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ~~  Michael "Lionman" Hackett		mdh@genco.bungi.com	       ~~
> ~~  IMPORTANT:  Most Emailers, don't grok my !-path address, therefore ~~
> ~~  you need to use my id@node address to insure proper delivery!      ~~
> ~~  I really hate it when email goes missing. :-<                      ~~
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 

Don't actually know where to get the info yet...  I haven't found anybody 
who has DONE this, or even THOUGHT of it yet, so I suppose I'm pretty 
much on my own until I find somebody of find it myself.  Will have to 
phone the CRTC sometime (Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commision, 
for those in the US) to see if they can help, but they are LD, so I'm not 
particularily looking forward to it.  Such is life, right?  Will 
certainly post my results when I get them though.

                                        Jason Cooper