People create their own communities in cyberspace, based on affinity rather than geography … The courts will have to unravel when, where and how potential crimes should be investigated.
Predictor: Sussman, Vic
Prediction, in context:The 1995 book “The Information Revolution,” edited by Donald Altschiller, carries a reprint of the Jan. 23, 1995, U.S. News & World Report article “Policing Cyberspace” by Vince Sussman. Sussman explores First Amendment rights in cyberspace. Sussman writes: ”Of all the material floating between computers, pornography best illustrates the difficulties of trying to apply old rules and laws to cyberspace. Late last year, a jury in Memphis, Tenn., convicted a Milpitas, Calif., couple of violating obscenity laws. Using a computer and modem in Memphis, a postal inspector downloaded pictures from the couple’s California-based BBS. The couple were tried in Memphis, and a jury found that the pictures violated local community standards. But the pictures, which existed only as data stored on a hard drive, were voluntarily extracted from a computer sitting in a community where the images were not illegal. People create their own communities in cyberspace, based on affinity rather than geography … The courts will have to unravel when, where and how potential crimes should be investigated.”
Date of prediction: January 1, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Crime/Fraud/Terrorism
Name of publication: The Information Revolution (book)
Title, headline, chapter name: Policing Cyberspace
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
Pages 116, 117
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Guarino, Jennifer Anne