IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES )
UNION OF GEORGIA, et al., )
)
Plaintiffs, ) CIVIL ACTION
)
vs. )
) FILE NO. _______
ZELL MILLER, in his official )
capacity as Governor of the )
State of Georgia, et al. )
)
Defendants. )
Sameer Parekh, of Oakland, California, declares under penalty of perjury that the following is true:
1. I am the President of Commuity ConneXion, Inc., an Internet Service Provider based in Berkeley, California.
2. Community ConneXion was founded in 1994 to assist online users in preserving their privacy on the Internet. Incorporated in Califonia in 1996, Community ConneXion currently has 500 subscribers around the world. Most subscribers dial a local access number to connect to the service. Community ConneXion provides subscribers with the full range of online services; subscribers can send and receive e-mail, post messages to USENET newsgroups and mailing lists, chat in real time, and create their own web pages.
3. Community ConneXion also offers a wide range of services designed specifically to protect the privacy of online users. We offer pseudonymous and anonymous general accounts to subscribers. We also maintain anonymous remailer services that can be used free of charge by any user on the Internet to send e-mail messages anonymously. In addition, Community ConneXion maintains the "Anonymizer" free of charge, a service that allows online users to browse the World Wide Web anonymously. These services are discussed in more detail in the following paragraphs.
4. Although we do not monitor or keep records regarding the kinds of communication for which our privacy services are used, we believe that our services are used for a variety of reasons, including protection from persecution for controversial lifestyles, protection from privacy-invasive employers, protection from oppressive governments in other countries, and protection from marketing databases.
Pseudonymous and Anonymous Accounts
5. Community ConneXion allows subscribers to set up pseudonymous accounts, in which the subscriber communicates under a "user name" that is a pen name rather than the real name of the subscriber. While communications from the user are traceable, and we know the real name of the user, the persons with whom the user communicates do not know the user's real identity. Pseudonymous accounts allow our subscribers to have a consistent identity in cyberspace without having to reveal his or her true identity.
6. Community ConneXion also offers completely anonymous accounts. These accounts provide additional privacy and security to the subscriber because the account is not associated with a name and phone number, and we do not know the user's real identity. We impose a few additional rules on these accounts, including a requirement that any complaint regarding the account be resolved within seven days or the account will be suspended.
7. Our subscribers may also publish web pages pseudonymously or anonymously as part of the basic packages of services we provide.
8. All of our accounts must be paid in advance, and failure to pay results in suspension of access until payment is received. A monthly fee of $7.50 provides unlimited access to all services.
9. Because of the nature of the online medium, there is no way to determine whether the online communications of our subscribers travel through the State of Georgia and therefore may be subject to the Act. There is no way to determine the geographic location of persons who read and reply to our subscribers' postings to online newsgroups, mailing lists, and chat rooms. Most of these fora can be accessed by anyone in the world, and there is no way to ensure that no one from Georgia will view the messages of our subscribers.
10. I do not know whether Community ConneXion could be held liable under the Act because we assist pseudonymous and anonymous account holders in "transmit[ting] data through a computer network . . . if such data uses any individual name . . . to falsely identify the person." Because the meaning of the Act is unclear, Community ConneXion will be forced to choose between discontinuing our pseudonymous and anonymous accounts, or risking prosecution under the Act.
11. Similarly, our subscribers do not know whether their use of a pseudonymous or anonymous account to communicate on the Internet violates the Act because it constitutes "transmit[ting] data through a computer network . . . if such data uses any individual name . . . to falsely identify the person." Because the meaning of the Act is unclear, they are forced to choose between abandoning their pseudonymous or anonymous account or risking prosecution under the Act.
Anonymous Remailer Services
12. Community ConneXion also makes available to the public free of charge a "pseudonym server," known as "alpha.c2.org," which allows Internet users who normally communicate under their real name to send particular messages pseudonymously. This service is a type of anonymous remailer; when an online user sends mail to the remailer address, the remailer strips the identifying information from the message and then forwards the mail to its destination. The recipient receives mail that has no evidence indicating its point of origin.
13. The pseudonym server is set up for repeated use. That is, the server provides the user with an untraceable pseudonym that is used whenever the user sends a message through the server. Other users, each with their own untraceable pseudonym, can then reply to the message. This allows users to create a double-blind situation where two or more users can have an ongoing exchange without ever knowing the identity of the other users.
14. The pseudonym server provides additional privacy by encrypting all messages between the user's computer and the server.
15. The pseudonym server can be used to send individual e- mail, and to post messages to mailing lists or USENET newsgroups.
16. Community ConneXion also maintains a web-based interface to a network of anonymous remailers on the Internet. This service, which Community ConneXion makes available to all Internet users free of charge, allows users to use the World Wide Web to send particular e-mail messages anonymously through a network of remailers on the Internet.
17. Because of the nature of the online medium, there is no way to determine with specificity whether persons residing in Georgia have sent or received mail through the pseudonym server or the anonymous remailer network. In addition, because it is impossible to determine what path a particular online communication travels, persons outside of the State of Georgia may nevertheless be communicating "through" the state of Georgia when they use the pseudonym server or anonymous remailer network.
18. I do not know whether operation of the alpha.c2.org pseudonym server and the web-based interface to the anonymous remailer network to communicate on the Internet violates the Act because it constitutes "transmit[ting] data through a computer network . . . if such data uses any individual name . . . to falsely identify the person." Because the meaning of the Act is unclear, Community ConneXion will be forced to choose between shutting down the pseudonym server or risking prosecution under the Act.
19. Similarly, I believe that online users do not know whether their use of the alpha.c2.org pseudonym server and the anonymous remailer network to communicate on the Internet violates the Act because it constitutes "transmit[ting] data through a computer network . . . if such data uses any individual name . . . to falsely identify the person." Because the meaning of the Act is unclear, they are forced to choose between abandoning their pseudonymity or risking prosecution under the Act.
The Anonymizer
20. Every time an online user visits a web site, he leaves a digital "calling card" that reveals the address of the unique host computer from which he is communicating, the address of the site he last visited, the kind of computer he is using, and other details. Most web sites keep logs with this information on all of the visitors that access their site.
21. Many online users fear that their privacy will be invaded if this collected data is misused, particularly where the user has no knowledge of the amount of data being collected by various web site operators.
22. To assist online users in protecting their privacy, Community ConneXion now provides a service known as the "Anonymizer" that allows online users to access information anonymously on the Internet. The Anonymizer serves as a middleman between the user and the particular pages he wants to retrieve. It strips all references to the user's e-mail address, computer type, and previous page visited before downloading the web page to the user. In its place it inserts the identifying information of the Anonymizer computer, which is then logged by the recording web site. If the user follows a link from a page accessed through the Anonymizer, the linked page is also accessed anonymously.
23. The Anonymizer works for accessing the World Wide Web and for retrieving articles from USENET newsgroups.
24. Because of the nature of the online medium, there is no way to determine with specificity whether persons residing in Georgia have used the Anonymizer. In addition, because it is impossible to determine what path a particular online communication travels, persons outside of the State of Georgia may nevertheless be communicating "through" the state of Georgia when they use the Anonymizer.
25. I do not know whether operation of the Anonymizer to access web sites on the Internet violates the Act because it constitutes "transmit[ting] data through a computer network . . . if such data uses any individual name . . . to falsely identify the person." Because the meaning of the Act is unclear, Community ConneXion will be forced to choose between shutting down the Anonymizer or risking prosecution under the Act.
26. Similarly, I believe that online users do not know whether their use of the Anonymizer could subject them to prosecution under the Act. They are forced to choose between abandoning their anonymity, or risking prosecution under the Act.
Links in The Community ConneXion Web Site
27. The Community ConneXion web site currently provides links to other relevant online material. These links provide valuable references to information that may be of interest to readers of our web site. For instance, the site links to the web sites of Netscape (a company that produces a popular browser for the World Wide Web) and DigiCash (a company that develops secure electronic commerce technology). These links may include trade names, registered trademarks, logos, legal or official seals, or copyrighted symbols.
28. I do not know whether providing these links in the Community ConneXion web site violates the Act because it constitutes "transmit[ting] data through a computer network . . . if such data uses any . . . trade name, registered trademark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol to . . . imply . . . permission or legal[] authoriz[ation] to use such trade name, registered trademark, logo, legal or official seal, or copyrighted symbol." Because the meaning of the Act is unclear, Community ConneXion will be forced to choose between removing the links, which would significantly decrease the value and usefulness of the web site, or risking prosecution under the Act.
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing statements are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Executed on this _____ day of ____, 1996.
_____________________________
Sameer Pareh