DISADVANTAGES — CONSUMER/INTERNET — KILLS THE INTERNET 432

IMPACT: FREE EXPRESSION

THE INTERNET HAS TRIGGERED A NEW BOOM IN FREE SPEECH

MARK SABLEMAN St. Louis Post-Dispatch March 12, 1999, SECTION: EDITORIAL, Pg. B7, TITLE: CAN WE KEEP NEW TECHNOLOGY AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN BALANCE? Web // acs-EE2001

Speech has never been as free as it is now on the Internet. The Internet enables near-instantaneous, direct, inexpensive person-to-person communications (e-mail) and a variety of modes of broad-distribution messages accessible to ordinary individuals (list servers, newsgroups and the World Wide Web).

FREEDOM OF SPEECH IS USELESS IF NOBODY IS LISTENING

MARK SABLEMAN St. Louis Post-Dispatch March 12, 1999, SECTION: EDITORIAL, Pg. B7, TITLE: CAN WE KEEP NEW TECHNOLOGY AND CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS IN BALANCE? Web // acs-EE2001

The first, and most basic, is that no one may be listening. Freedom of speech for speakers doesn't guarantee access to attentive listeners. And who can blame listeners - that is, us - for filtering out most of today's unending cacophony?