Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site looking.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!looking!brad From: brad@looking.UUCP (Brad Templeton) Newsgroups: net.micro,net.legal Subject: Re: California law and Bulletin Board Computers Message-ID: <239@looking.UUCP> Date: Sat, 2-Mar-85 00:00:00 EST Article-I.D.: looking.239 Posted: Sat Mar 2 00:00:00 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Mar-85 04:31:54 EST References: <2723@sdcc3.UUCP> Organization: Looking Glass Software, Waterloo, Ont Lines: 22 Xref: watmath net.micro:9558 net.legal:1478 Will this law change much, in particular wrt cases like Mog-ur. It's saying that an electronic communication system is little different from a printing system, and that the same rights and restrictions apply. Magazines aren't allowed to solicit and print phone credit numbers from anonymous sources. The same rules will now surely apply to a BBS. Privately owned data systems will be allowed to censor, control and limit the data transferred through them as much as desired, in the same way that magazines need only print what they agree with in the letters column if they like. If anything, this makes running an underground BBS even more illegal. LA's case against MOG-UR was not BBS related. If a magazine existed that printed anything submitted by any anonymous submitter, and those submitters posted illegal things like credit card #s and libel, you can bet the magazine would be sued. The other provisions in the law are excellent, in that they limit the power of government. But don't think this protects a BBS. -- Brad Templeton, Looking Glass Software Ltd. - Waterloo, Ontario 519/884-7473