[Air-l] more on ISPs and freedom of speech

[Sandra Braman]

A follow-on to my earlier posting of today -- 
legally responding to ISP restrictions of speech
is a difficult matter, for reasons we're now discussing

-- but to bring the conversation back to where it
started, which was the assumption of individuals 
who are politically active that switching to AOL or Yahoo
in hopes of finding a more open speech environment
-- this remains an unfounded assumption.  

In addition to attempting to push public forum analysis
of ISPs through the courts, other approaches to trying
to create, protect, or maintain an environment for free
speech in the net by working with ISP terms of service
include:

- forming groups of users (such as all libraries,
or all universities) large enough to negotiate preferred
terms of service with ISPs (in the way that large
business-oriented buildings get their own terms).

- identifying protection of free speech as a market
niche for an ISP that will choose to market itself
that way.  (with the problem, as we've recently seen,
that such an ISP must have its own backbone or
there is the possibility of being shut down by the
backbone operator).

- education of users to generate a shift in public
attitude regarding what is acceptable in ISP
terms of service and acceptable use policies.

Sandra Braman