Computers and Academic Freedom Labeling references =============== ftp://ftp.eff.org/pub/CAF/faq/labeling =============== q: Would creating a requirement that offensive material be labeled be a way protect intellectual freedom? a: Requiring labeling harms intellectual freedom. The references give details of the problems. ANNOTATED REFERENCES (All these documents are available on-line. Access information follows.) ================= library/labeling.ala ================= * Labeling (ALA) An interpretation by the American Library Association of the "Library Bill of Rights" It gives three reasons why labeling is bad. The first is that "[l]abeling is an attempt to prejudice attitudes and as such, it is a censor's tool." ================= civil-liberty/pop-music.aclu ================= * Popular Music Under Siege -- ACLU Briefing Paper #21 [To visit the ACLU gopher, try: "gopher aclu.org 6601"] Answers these questions: What's wrong with voluntary labeling? Isn't it, like movie rating, a harmless way to give parents consumer information that can help them make intelligent choices for their kids? What about government labeling or classification of music lyrics? What about laws that keep music with antisocial, misogynistic or violent messages away from minors -- doesn't society have an obligation to protect kids? But what if someone listens to "Cop Killer" and then murders a police officer? Don't lyrics that deal with sex, violence, drug use, suicide, etc. cause anti-social behavior? ================= civil-liberty/artistic-freedom.aclu ================= * Artistic Freedom -- ACLU Briefing Paper #14 [To visit the ACLU gopher, try: "gopher aclu.org 6601"] Answers these questions: What protects the work of artists from government censorship? When and how did the threat to artistic freedom emerge in this country? How has the Supreme Court dealt with sexually explicit expression? Why does the ACLU object to the obscenity exception to the First Amendment? But don't obscene and pornographic works cause anti-social and even violent behavior? Even if the government can't suppress art, surely it shouldn't use tax monies to fund art that offends!? Why does the ACLU object to movie ratings, music labeling, or other voluntary rating systems? Don't they give guidance to consumers, especially parents? But mustn't we protect our children from inappropriate messages and images, especially graphic sex and violence? Defending artists is fine, but why does the ACLU spend time and money defending pornographers and sleaze merchants? ================= library/freedom-to-read.ala ================= * Freedom to Read Statement (ALA) and Association of American Publishers. It says in part: "We trust Americans to recognize propaganda, and to reject it. We do not believe they need the help of censors to assist them in this task. We do not believe they are prepared to sacrifice their heritage of a free press in order to be "protected" against what others think may be bad for them. We believe they still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression." ================= law/riley-v-nfb ================= * Expression -- Labeling A summary of _Riley v. National Federation of the Blind_ from an _Wired_ 2.11 article about computer game labeling. In that case, the Supreme Court said the government generally does not have authority to compel speech. Specifically, it could not require charity solicitors to detail how much money was going to professional fund raisers. ================= law/moderator.rights ================= * Expression -- Moderator Rights A summary of the rights of an editor/moderator. Addresses the question: "if a moderator is government-site-based, what is his or her authority/right to exclude material?" (It also talks about a private author/publisher's right to exclude material.) ================= ================= If you have gopher, you can browse the CAF archive with the command gopher gopher.eff.org These document(s) are also available by anonymous ftp (the preferred method) and by email. To get the file(s) via ftp, do an anonymous ftp to ftp.eff.org (192.77.172.4), and then: cd /pub/CAF/library get labeling.ala cd /pub/CAF/civil-liberty get pop-music.aclu cd /pub/CAF/civil-liberty get artistic-freedom.aclu cd /pub/CAF/library get freedom-to-read.ala cd /pub/CAF/law get riley-v-nfb cd /pub/CAF/law get moderator.rights To get the file(s) by email, send email to ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com Include the line(s): connect ftp.eff.org cd /pub/CAF/library get labeling.ala cd /pub/CAF/civil-liberty get pop-music.aclu cd /pub/CAF/civil-liberty get artistic-freedom.aclu cd /pub/CAF/library get freedom-to-read.ala cd /pub/CAF/law get riley-v-nfb cd /pub/CAF/law get moderator.rights -- Carl Kadie -- I do not represent any organization or employer; this is just me. = Email: kadie@cs.uiuc.edu = = URL: