SEX, LIES AND COMPUTER NETWORKS: PLAYING DOWN POWER AND VIOLENCE IN VIRTUAL WORLDS. A panel discussion held on January 20, 1994 at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria Summary by Janice Swan On October 12, 1993 the Academic Senate at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria decided to block the use of four computer news groups established to broadcast pornographic pictures material. These news groups originate from NetNews, a service provided by the world-wide communications network Internet. This decision caused concern among NetNews users at the University that their freedom to access information was being restricted and that it represented a form of censorship. In addition to these legal/ethical aspects, other points of discussion were raised involving electronic communications media: the changes to communications culture caused by instantaneous transmission, increased accessability, and globalization combined with the protection of anomynimity provided by the computer. It was with these controversial themes in mind that a panel discussion involving pornography and computer networks took place on January 20, 1994 at the Johannes Kepler University (JKU). The panel consisted of six men and women: Dr. Caecilia Innreiter-Moser, a member of the Network Services Task Force at JKU Christoph Lechner from the JKU Computer Center Bigga Rodeck, a student at Hamburg University in Germany Dr. Maria Bauer from the Justice Department in Vienna Andreas Neubacher, a student at JKU Dr. Marie-Luise Angerer from the University of Salzberg in Austria. Dr. Innreiter-Moser began the discussion by presenting a summary of the events that led to the decision by the Academic Senate to block the four news groups from the University network. She stated that the Senate had unanimously voted to eliminate pornographic news groups from University computer systems. The Task Force reasoned that the mission of universities as institutions of higher learning is to devote its resources to research and education. In Dr. Innreiter-Moser's opinion, the four news groups which had been eliminated contributed neither academic nor research value to the University and that pornographic material degrades all of us. Christoph Lechner continued the discussion by providing the technical details of Internet and NetNews. Through Internet, more than 20 million users are linked with over 2 million computers world-wide. At JKU, 700 computers are directly linked with approximately 2000 users. NetNews has been available at the University for four years, providing in excess of 46000 articles per day. The removal of the four news groups has had an adverse effect on computer resources at the University because their subscribers have been trying to obtain access to the information via alternate servers causing network traffic to increase. Following her definition of pornography as a form of sexism that draws on sexuality, Bigga Rodeck gave an online demonstration of pornographic software. Ms. Rodeck then followed with four characteristics that she believes are inherent in computer pornography 1. computer pornography is anonymous and discreet 2. the production and distribution of computer pornography is easily obtained 3. the separation of private and work life is unclear with computer pornography which creates implications for sexual harassment in the workplace 4. computers maintain a relatively prestigious place in society and thus men who are using a computer to produce pornography capitalize on this In addition to sexual harassment, Ms. Rodeck observed that computer pornography has serious implications for women. Through scanning and computer graphic technologies, any woman can now become a "porn star". Computer pornography also re-enforces the old-boys network in the workplace because men can share their experiences with computer pornography and thus exclude women from their dealings. Dr. Bauer began by commenting on the issue of freedom of expression that came up in the discussions on the Senate's decision. She stated that freedom of expression is not an absolute right but a relative one. She continued by explaining Austrian pornography law. The 1950 pornography law defines pornography in terms of "lewdness" and the intent to make profit. The latter is, however, not the case with pornographic pictures and images on the Internet. The distinction is also made between hard and soft pornography. The new pornography law which is currently being drafted in Austria no longer requires the intent to make profit when the offence involves hard pornography and in particular child pornography. In the new law only pornography depicting actual people (ie. drawings will be excluded) will be penalized. Andreas Neubacher described himself as a computer user who reads about half an hour to an hour of NetNews per day. He sees NetNews as a tool to access a large pool of information quickly. He talked about the anarchic philosophy of NetNews and was shocked to see his rights as a user restricted by a decision from above. He would like to see self-regulation of the network with total freedom of information exchange. The final speaker, Dr. Angerer believes that the discussion of pornography among German-speaking feminists has come to a dead end. New theories in communications research point to the fact that traditionally pornographic images are confused with real life when in actuality pornography consists of images which differ from reality. However, men and women react differently to these images. Dr. Angerer then discussed the relationship of men to technology, and more specifically to computers. She explained that through object-relation theory many men see their computer as their "second self" and thus refer to and relate to their computer as if it were female. With the opening statements of the panel concluded, the floor was opened for questions and discussion by those attending. During the often heated and confrontational discussion, many interesting points were made, including the following: 1. the technical feasibility of controlling NetNews versus the moral interest in eliminating pornography on the JKU campus 2. who is responsible for the illicit material that is found on campus? 3. what are the rights and responsibilities of universities first as institutions of higher learning, and furthermore as employers? 4. male domination in computer network use Following the discussion period, the panel members gave their final statements. Dr. Angerer found that the discussion that took place was gender- specific as is usually the case when debating the topic of pornography. She also said that the University made a symbolic gesture in eliminating the four news groups but questioned the meaning of these symbols in the realm of new media. Mr. Neubacher was pleased that the discussion had occured as he believes there is a need for public debate in decisions that effect the students at JKU. He said he feels that NetNews is an important service and that it should continue to be provided at the University. He hopes for a more democratic process where decisions effecting computer users at the University are involved. Dr. Bauer concluded by saying that she believes there are important questions to be asked including: "Who has the power?" and "Who should have the power?". She said that she prefers a democratically controlled institution to the concept of self-regulation of the network. Ms. Rodeck asked, "What can be done against computer pornography?" One suggestion is to start making computer pornography involving men. This would not, however, change the relations of power. She observed that the alternative of writing virus-like software programs to eliminate the pornography is infeasible. Holding discussions to help alter the additudes surrounding computer pornography is the solution she sees as most effective. Mr. Lechner stated that he believes that censorship is not technically feasible. Finally, Dr. Innreiter-Moser explained that she was glad that the panel discussion had taken place, and that the Network Services Task Force would try to make information more available to the public as she is interested in a good and fair solution.