To: online-newspapers@marketplace.com
Message-ID: 
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Sender: owner-online-newspapers@marketplace.com
Precedence: bulk
Reply-To: online-newspapers@marketplace.com
Status: RO
X-Status: 


OK, here's our policy. Any comments?

                         THE NEWSHARE CORP.
                        POLICY ON CENSORSHIP
		        AND PARENTAL OPTION

	Newshare Corp. believes effective democracy requires that
free-speech protections cover the process of delivering information --
whether on paper or electronically -- as well as creating and presenting
it.

	In the United States, common carriers of information have
generally been exempt from the application of libel laws; while publishers
must carefully manage their editorial process so as to fairly protect
reputations and livelihoods. Where roles become mixed -- common carriage
vs. publishing -- the media, public and courts are drawn into conflict. 

	It is for this reason that Newshare Corp. believes common carriers
of information -- cable operators, telephone companies and the like -- are
plying dangerous waters for democracy by attempting themselves to become
publishers.

       Newshare, as the Internet's first news brokerage, intends to
separate its role as a common carrier from its role as a publisher. It
will do this by offering enabling technology for Newshare consumers to
"turn off" offensive material. But it will leave the decision about what
to mark as offensive up to Newshare Publisher Members -- the content
providers. 

	On one hand, a Newshare Publishing Member who wants to use the
Clickshare system to publish patently offensive -- but legal -- material,
may do so. Moreover, a mere claim of illegality will not be sufficient to
warrant overriding the publishers' prerogative. (Example: the Nixon
administration believed it was illegal to publish the Pentagon Papers. The
U.S. Supreme Court ruled otherwise.)

	Newshare Corp. will never be in the business of telling its
Publishing Members what they can and cannot publish, link to or exchange
across the Clickshare(SM) system of billable hypertext links. Our strategy
is to enable transfer of widely dispersed information -- for value -- in a 
searchable, customizable format from a single user account. 

	On the other hand, Newshare Corp. and the Newshare Syndicate are
working hard to build credibility as a branded source of high-quality,
personalized, local and topical news. Only those publishers which
subscribe to Newshare's customer-service objectives will be awarded the
right to use the Newshare name. 

	Consistent with building credibility, consumer users of the
Newshare system will be invited to invoke a "parental option" when they
enroll with their local or topic-specific Pubishing Member. This service 
will then automatically check the publisher-assigned rating of documents 
requested across the Newshare system.

	If a document is voluntarily coded as unsuitable for viewing by a
minor, it will not be transmitted to the user requesting it. This rating
will not be assigned by Newshare Corp. It will be assigned by individual
Publishing Member affiliates in the exercise of their publishing
responsibility. 

	Newshare will not dictate the standard by which this designation
is made. Consumers themselves may then decide which Publishing Member best
reflects their values.  Newshare Corp. does not believe the government or
a common carrier should be empowered to abridge this balance between 
publishing responsibility and informed consumer choice.

	Publishers who surreptitiously serve up offensive bytes must
suffer the ill-will of consumers -- not Newshare and certain not the 
government.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 
| Bill Densmore -- President                     NEWSHARE CORPORATION |
| One Bank St., P.O. Box 367                    densmore@newshare.com | 
| Williamstown MA  01267                        voice: (413) 458-8001 |
| "The Internet's first news brokerage"       http://www.newshare.com | 
+---------------------------------------------------------------------+ 






From owner-online-news@marketplace.com Thu Jun  8 15:20:15 1995
Received: from marketplace.com (majordom@marketplace.com [199.45.128.10]) by cnj.digex.net (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id PAA13753 ; for ; Thu, 8 Jun 1995 15:20:04 -0400
Received: (from majordom@localhost) by marketplace.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) id KAA10024 for online-news-outgoing; Thu, 8 Jun 1995 10:20:58 -0600
Received: from rmc1.crocker.com (densmore@rmc1.crocker.com [204.97.12.50]) by marketplace.com (8.6.12/8.6.12) with ESMTP id KAA10018 for ; Thu, 8 Jun 1995 10:20:55 -0600
Received: (from densmore@localhost) by rmc1.crocker.com (8.6.11/8.6.10) id MAA28336; Thu, 8 Jun 1995 12:28:18 -0400