A program which lets Cyber Patrol owners know which websites the filtering software lists as "offensive" - from porn sites to "hate" sites - is under a Boston federal judge's cease-and-desist, but it's also received an endorsement from the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU is challenging the judge's order and has filed an appeal.
Federal judge Edward Harrington ordered a pair of researchers to quit posting on the Web a program that exposes the Cyber Patrol "blacklist." The ACLU took up the cause of three websites who copied the decoding program, the organization says in a press release. They also want Harrington to suspend his order while the appeal is in process.
"The legal issue here is whether a Boston court has jurisdiction over the entire Internet, and our answer to that is a resounding 'no,'" said senior ACLU staff attorney Chris Hansen. "The larger issue is whether Cyber Patrol and other software companies are going to tell the American public exactly what their software blocks, especially when Congress wants to force both children and adults to use it."
According to Hansen, the ACLU got into the battle when the three clients in question - identified as Lindsay Haisley, Bennett Haselton, and Waldo Jaquith - got notice from Cyber Patrol attorneys to obey the Harrington order. They've removed their copies of the decoding for the time being, the ACLU said.
Hansen said the ACLU would take it to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals if Harrington turns down the stay request. The Electronic Privacy Information Center has joined the ACLU's appeal.
