The ACLU came out against Web ratings and filtering software, a federal judge is weighing whether First Amendment protections apply to computer simulations of child porn, and the FBI is pressing a new Internet inclusive wiretap policy. This is one of those divisive debates, like abortion, that defies certitude because it pits self-evident truths against each other. The trouble starts when the two principles collide. So it is with the controversy over Internet policy. But I ve decided to relish this moment rather than recoil from it.
Healthy debate can only happen in free societies that cherish the rule of law.
Last week, I told you about the coalition of news server administrators who issued a death penalty against UUNet traffic. They felt the huge Internet service provider wasn t policing itself thoroughly enough for spam. Now comes a group that would rather switch than fight. Forget Usenet, they ve decided. Instead, they re forming an entirely new and exclusive feed based on rigorous rules and an ardent anti-spam philosophy.