10.18.1. Legal issues regarding access to systems
+ Concerns:
- access by minors to sexually explicit material
+ access from regions where access "should not be
permitted"
- export of crypto, for example
- the Memphis access to California BBS
+ Current approach: taking the promise of the accessor
- "I will not export this outside the U.S. or Canada."
- "I am of legal age to access this material."
+ Possible future approaches:
+ Callbacks, to ensure accessor is from region stated
- easy enough to bypass with cut-outs and remailers
+ "Credentials"
- a la the US Postal Service's proposed ID card (and
others)
+ cryptographically authenticated credentials
- Chaum's credentials system (certainly better than
many non-privacy-preserving credentials systems)
10.18.2. "What is a "common carrier" and how does a service become
one?"
- (This topic has significance for crypto and remailers, vis
a vis whether remailers are to be treated as common
carriers.)
- Common carriers are what the phone and package delivery
services are. They are not held liable for the contents of
phone calls, for the contents of packages (drugs,
pornography, etc.), or for illegal acts connected with
their services. One of the deals is that common carriers
not examine the insides of packages. Common carriers
essentially agree to take all traffic that pays the fee and
not to discriminate based on content. Thus, a phone service
will not ask what the subject of a call is to be, or listen
in, to decide whether to make the connection.
- Some say that to be a common carrier requires a willingness
to work with law enforcement. That is, Federal Express is
not responsible for contents of packages, but they have to
cooperate in reasonable ways with law enforcement to open
or track suspicious packages. Anybody have a cite for this?
Is it true?
- Common carrier status is also cited for bookstores, which
are not presumed to have read each and every one of the
books they sell...so if somebody blows their hand off in a
an experiment, the bookstore is not liable. (The
author/publisher may be, but that's a”nt issue.)
- How does one become a common carrier? Not clear. One view
is that a service should "behave like" a common carrier and
then hope and pray that a court sees it that way.
+ Are computer services common carriers? A topic of great
interest.
- "According to a discussion I had with Dave Lawrence
(postmaster at UUNET, as well as moderator of
news.admin.newgroups), UUNET is registered with the FCC
as an "Enhanced Service Provider," which, according to
Dave, amounts to similar protection as "Common Carrier."
("Common Carrier" seems to not be appropriate yet, since
Congress is so behind the tech curve)." [L. Todd Masco,
1994-08-11]
- As for remailer networks being treated as common carriers,
totally unclear at this time. Certainly the fact that
packets are fully encrypted and unreadabel goes to part of
the issue about agreeing not to screen.
+ More on the common carrier debate:
- "Ah, the eternal Common Carrier debate. The answer is
the same as the last few times. "Common Carrier" status
has little to do with exemption from liability. It has
most to do with being unable to reject passengers, goods,
or phone calls......Plenty of non-common carrier entities
are immune from prosecution for ideas that they
unkowingly communicate -- bookstores for example (unless
they are *knowingly* porno bookstores in the wrong
jurisdiction)....Compuserve was held not liable for an
(alleged) libel by one of its sysops. Not because of
common carrier but because they had no knowledge or
control....Remailers have no knowledge or control hence
no scienter (guilty knowledge) hence no liability as a
matter of law---not a jury question BTW." [Duncan
Frissell, 1994-08-11]
By Tim May, see README
HTML by Jonathan Rochkind