Model Statute: www.commercial_terrorism.com: A Proposed Federal Criminal Statute Addressing the Solicitation of Commerical Terrorism Through the Internet

[David Goldstein <goldstein_david@yahoo.com.au>]

Hi all

For those wanting some serious reading, this article forwarded to me
recently may be what you are after, and this time with the URL. See
http://www.rtmark.com/more/harvardjournal2000winter.html for the full
article.

Cheers
David

Model Statute: www.commercial_terrorism.com: A Proposed Federal
Criminal Statute Addressing the Solicitation of Commerical Terrorism
Through the Internet Bruce Braun* and Dane Drobny** and Douglas C.
Gessner*** 

Winter, 2000
37 Harvard Journal on Legislation 159

* Partner, Winston & Strawn, Chicago, Ill.. B.A., Haverford College,
1985; J.D., University of Virginia, 1989. 
** Associate, Winston & Strawn, Chicago, Ill. B.A., Colgate
University, 1989; J.D., Washington University, 1993. 
*** Associate, Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, Ill. Adjunct Professor of
Law, Trial Practice, John Marshall Law School. B.A., University of
Michigan, 1986; J.D., Harvard Law School, 1989. 

{page 159} The development of the Internet as a means of
communication marks a dramatic change in the manner in which
information is exchanged and disseminated in our culture. Quickly
fading are the days in which a person's main venue for expressing her
revolutionary views included standing on a soapbox or distributing
leaflets. Instead, the Internet provides any person with any opinion
the ability to reach a virtually unlimited audience without the
formidable barriers previously posed by costly and inaccessible
mainstream visual or print media. n1 In the current "Information
Age," the marketplace of ideas is booming on the Internet. 

However, along with the benefits of increased access to information,
ease of communication, and new avenues for commerce have come the
problems associated with a largely unregulated {page 160}
environment. In its present infant stage, the Internet resembles the
lawless "Wild West." The Internet is open to governance by human
instincts, including those of greed, deception, and hate. In recent
months there has been an alarming increase in the use of the Internet
to sponsor, solicit and encourage the use of "commercial terrorism."
n2 For the purposes of this Model Statute, "commercial terrorism" is
defined as the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or
property to intimidate or coerce commercial interests. n3
Inflammatory web sites promoting commercial terrorism have targeted
corporations such as McDonald's, n4 7-Eleven, n5 Kinko's, n6 Walt
Disney Company, n7 Blockbuster Entertainment n8 and Mattel. n9 These
web sites foster animosity towards the corporation and urge readers
to take affirmative steps to tarnish the corporation's image and to
sabotage its operations. Indeed, such web sites threaten acts of
destruction that may cause substantial financial damages to a
targeted company. 

Presently, the operators of these web sites have little reason to
fear prosecution. Because the Internet transcends state boundaries,
state and local authorities are ill-equipped to address the unique
set of problems posed by commercial terrorism. Despite {page 161} the
clear need for federal action, the Justice Department, faced with
competing priorities, has devoted little in the way of time and
resources necessary to track down and prosecute Internet terrorists.
n10 Even if prosecution was a priority, current federal criminal laws
have not kept pace with the new issues created by this unique form of
terrorism. These statutes are often too broad, too cumbersome, or
fail to address the type of destruction caused by Internet terrorism.

 http://www.rtmark.com/more/harvardjournal2000winter.html

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