FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For Information Contact:
Susan Wright, Spokesperson, susanw@ncsfreedom.org,
917.848.6544
New York, October 29,
2004 Testimony concluded on October 28, 2004,
in Barbara Nitke and National Coalition for Sexual
Freedom v John Ashcroft, in the Federal District Court
for the Southern District of NY, case # 01 CIV 11476
(RMB). This lawsuit is challenging an unconstitutional
law called the Communications Decency Act (CDA) which
criminalizes free speech on the Internet. Plaintiffs
are represented by noted First Amendment attorney,
John Wirenius.
The tone was civil and polite throughout
the two days in court as images of SM and explicit
sexual photographs were examined by the three judge
panel. Supporters filled the courtroom to listen to
expert testimony ranging from Arthur Danto, the Emeritus
Johnsonian Professor of Philosophy at Columbia University,
to the concerns of Dov Hechtman, a webmaster for the
SM membership group The Eulenspiegel Society.
Barbara Nitke, fine art photographer
whose work is an exploration of sexual relationships,
testified that she feared prosecution in areas of
the country where there is little understanding of
alternative sexual expression. Noted columnists, photographer
David Steinberg and sex educator Tristan Taormino,
both provided sexually frank images to the court which
they have not included on their websites because of
the vagueness of obscenity laws.
The reliability of geolocation software
was challenged by testimony from Ben Laurie of The
Apache Software Foundation. Seth Finkelstein, a computer
technical expert, testified about the conflicts between
geolocation software and the protection of privacy.
Geolocation software allows website hosts to block
visitors from certain states or areas of states. This
is a critical component of the case because obscenity
is determined by "local community standards."
Testimony was sharply divided over the accuracy of
geolocation software, varying over a range of 60-95%
effective.
The difficulty of determining local
community standards was attested by Jeffrey Douglas,
Chair of the Board of the Free Speech Coalition, who
has compiled a study of obscenity prosecutions called
"Know Censorship." Susan Wright, Spokesperson
for NCSF, testified as to the significant variance
in local community standards faced by individuals,
groups, events and businesses in the SM-leather-fetish,
swing and polyamory communities.
The government supplied only two witnesses.
Thomas Miltonberger with Quova testified that the
geolocation software currently available would cost
a website owner several thousand dollars a month.
Chris McCulluh with Sinetimore Internet Security Service
Provider suggested that Barbara Nitke request the
full name and address of every user who wants to access
her website, and then confirm their geolocation by
mailing them a confirmation letter, a process that
would take several weeks.
Written final arguments are due December
17th. This case is expected to reach the Supreme Court
on appeal.
Attorney General John Ashcroft is currently
prosecuting people and businesses for violating obscenity
laws. The first target under obscenity law amended
by the CDA was Extreme Associates which produces SM-themed
pornography. Ashcroft continues to meet with religious
political extremist groups and has promised to outlaw
all "obscene" material. Under the Clinton
administration, obscenity laws were not enforced,
but the Bush administration has made obscenity prosecutions
a priority.
NCSF is challenging the CDA law because
personal websites and chat groups that include discussions
and images of SM, swinging or polyamory are at risk
of prosecution. Since alternative sexual expression
is outside the mainstream, it is an easy target. Membership
groups that have educational and social websites are
also at risk, in the same way SM events were targeted
by religious political extremist groups in the Midwest
in 2002-03.
If you would like to donate to the CDA
lawsuit expenses, go to: http://www.ncsfreedom.org/donations.htm
Every dollar goes directly to ensuring free speech
on the Internet!
###
A project of NCSF
The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
is a national organization committed to creating a
political, legal, and social environment in the United
States that advances equal rights of consenting adults
who practice forms of alternative sexual expression.
NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting
adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory
communities, who often face discrimination because
of their sexual expression.
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org