Jewish rights group urges ban of all hate messages on Internet
Article Abstract:
Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center writes a letter asking universities and Internet providers to stop carrying World Wide Web content that is anti-Semitic and promotes violence. The letter, sent to about 2,000 providers including the commercial on-line services, proposes voluntary adherence to a code of ethics that would eliminate service for anyone supporting hate or violence. The letter is opposed both by publishers of the material and by civil rights proponents. Cooper's letter states that the Internet allows the publishers of hate material to reach a wider audience than ever before. Free speech proponents opposing the letter point to the spontaneous creation of a number of Web pages that present facts to counter the misinformation published in the hate-speech sites. Hate speech is typically afforded First Amendment protections, and even those sympathetic to Cooper's cause see his letter as an effort at censorship.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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Report of high Internet use is challenged; professor contends survey was skewed
Article Abstract:
Vanderbilt University Professor Donna L. Hoffman claims that the Nielsen Media Research report on Internet usage, for which she was chief academic advisor, is flawed. Hoffman endorsed the report when it was issued, but she has retracted her support after examining the company's raw data. Hoffman states that the survey was skewed because it polled a group that is older, better educated and significantly more affluent than the US population as a whole as represented by the 1990 US Census. Nielsen defends its findings, citing its reputation for reliability and calling into question the expertise of Hoffman and her partner Professor Thomas Novak, both of whom helped design the survey. The Nielsen report generated surprise when it was released because of several conclusions, including its claim that some 24 million adults in the US and Canada used the Internet and that adults spend as much time on the Internet as watching videotapes.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1995
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