Highlights from Edupage

[David Farber <farber@central.cis.upenn.edu>]

ELECTRONIC EAVESDROPPING
A measure soon to be introduced on Capitol Hill would require that all
network providers, including the Internet and commercial on-line services,
build in the capability to record any person's e-mail and deliver it to
federal law-enforcement authorities. Government agents will need only to
show a person merits investigation, rather than obtain a court order as is
the case for telephone eavesdropping. (Business Week 3/14/94 p.55)


IS OPEN ACCESS A RIGHT?
"It is far from clear whether the First Amendment will allow the government
to treat the entire [information] industry as a common carrier, with open
access to everyone's system [as prescribed by Vice President Gore] a
condition imposed by government." (American Journalism Review 3/94 p.54)