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| ___| __ ___ ___ / ___| _ __ ___ ___ ___| |__ C Citizens
| |_ | '__/ _ \/ _ \ \___ \| '_ \ / _ \/ _ \/ __| '_ \ I Internet
| _|| | | __/ __/ ___) | |_) | __/ __/ (__| | | | E Empowerment
|_| |_| \___|\___| |____/| .__/ \___|\___|\___|_| |_| C Coalition
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SUPREME COURT WATCH CONTINUES
WILL ONLINE FREE SPEECH SURVIVE?
Please distribute this alert intact until July 1, 1997
Citizens Internet Empowerment Coalition
http://www.ciec.org
___________________________________________________________________________
SUPREME COURT WATCH CONTINUES
The Net continues to hold its collective breath as we await a ruling from
the US Supreme Court in the legal challenge to the Communications Decency
Act.
A decision could come at any time between Monday June 23 and June 30.
Don't forget to bookmark http://www.ciec.org/ and check back regularly for
the latest news and information on the case. When the decision is announced,
it will be posted at the CIEC web site along with reaction and analysis.
** SECIAL EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT **
On the day of the decision, at 1:00 pm EDT, you can tune in to the CIEC
post-decision press conference LIVE ONLINE. CIEC plaintiffs and lawyers
will be present to discuss the reactions to the historic ruling.
Who: Attorneys and Plaintiffs from the Citizens Internet Empowerment
Coalition, including Bruce Ennis (who argued the case before the
court), and representatives from the American Library Association,
America Online, Center for Democracy and Technology, People for the
American Way, Microsoft, the Recording Industry Association, and
many others.
When: 1:00 pm EDT (10:00 am PDT) on the day the decision is announced.
Where: http://www.ciec.org/
The CIEC post-decision press conference will be cybercast through the
generous support of WebActive. Drop by and say thanks!
http://www.webactive.com/
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UPDATE ON THE CIEC ONLINE FUNDRAISER & FREE SPEECH VIGIL CAMPAIGN
We are pleased to announce that in the first 2 weeks of the CIEC online
fundraiser to support our ability to continue to provide the most
comprehensive onilne resource on the fight for free speech online, we have
received pledges for nearly $7,000. Thank you all for your generous
support!
That puts us well on our way to our goal of $30,000 by July 5 -- but we
still need your help. If you support our efforts and are interested in
helping CIEC to "keep the lights on", please take a moment to visit
http://www.ciec.org/fund/
In addition, more than 12,000 world wide web sites are now linked to the
CIEC web site and are poised to announce the Supreme Court decision in real
time throughout cyberspace. Since June 5th, the CIEC animated image, which
will change to reflect the outcome of the case as soon as a decision is
announced, is being seen by more than 100,000 people PER DAY!
Participants in the campaign range from humble home pages of individual
Internet users to the high visibility web sites of major Internet industry
leaders. Even members of the US Congress have linked to the CIEC site!
The diversity of participants, and the high visibility of this effort, are
helping to prove the core issue of this case -- that the Internet is a
unique communications medium which provides every citizen the opportunity
to exercise their right to freely express their ideas and opinions. Thanks
you all for your support of this campaign!
If you have a web page and would like to join the effort, visit
http://www.ciec.org/action
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KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED
That's it for now. Remember to watch the CIEC animated image and visit
http://www.ciec.org/ for the latest news and information.
The future of the Internet and the fate of the First Amendment in the
information age hang in the balance.
________________________________________________________________________
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information on the Free Speech Vigil, including press inquiries,
please contact:
Jonah Seiger, <jseiger@cdt.org> +1.202.637.9800
Communications Director, Center for Democracy and Technology/Citizens
Internet Empowerment Coalition
Or Visit http://www.ciec.org/
___________________________________________________________________________
end CIEC bulletin 06.20.97