Fundamentally it was ruled that Demon were not a common carrier and thus liable for the content of their news-groups.
For a litigous country like the US this is very bad news. Think of all those fundamentalist states which will be suing ISPs for corrupting their children's minds with disgusting pornography, violence etc.
I'd lobby your congressmen to get this sort of decision reversed, it can only lead to heavier censorship, and the winning of the ISP game by bland behemoths like AOL.
Slashdot Mirror
We've had similar rulings in the UK in particular the Dr Godfrey vs Demon Internet libel case.
(For Demon commentary see : Demon Response)
Fundamentally it was ruled that Demon were not a common carrier and thus liable for the content of their news-groups.
For a litigous country like the US this is very bad news. Think of all those fundamentalist states which will be suing ISPs for corrupting their children's minds with disgusting pornography, violence etc.
I'd lobby your congressmen to get this sort of decision reversed, it can only lead to heavier censorship, and the winning of the ISP game by bland behemoths like AOL.