Caught in the Web (Spring, 1996) -------------------------------- How do mere individuals stand up to modern day injustices? What can we do to get the word out when the system has failed us and the most important thing is to find others in a similar situation who may be able to help out? Throughout history, this kind of a challenge has been insurmountable to most. But the times are changing very rapidly. And the one thing individuals have over bloated bureaucracies and huge corporations is the ability to adapt - quickly. We've learned over the past few years that the Internet is probably the most effective means of worldwide communication in the history of humanity. When word of something needs to be gotten out, all that is required is access and the world can know within seconds. Now, with the growing popularity of the World Wide Web, anyone with the necessary access has the ability to become their own information disseminator, where people from around the world actually come to you for information of any sort. And with the growing number and abilities of search engines, people anywhere can find you based on the information you provide. This kind of power is unprecedented in the hands of solitary citizens. It's precisely because of the hacker mentality responsible for creating this medium that the authorities are in such a panic. This explains the rush to control everything from content to accessibility. But the power mongers are far too late this time. The box is open and the rules forever changed. It no longer matters what those who don't realize this choose to do. They are doomed to failure. What is important, though, is for the rest of us to maximize the potential of this technology while it is still in relative infancy. As consumers, we no longer have to wait for someone to speak on our behalf. With the Net, we can speak for ourselves and be guaranteed an audience and, ultimately, a reaction of some sort. In our last issue, we mentioned a problem we were having with an Internet Service provider (PSI) who had promised us the ability to use 56k data over voice over an ISDN line. When it was finally realized that they didn't offer this service, the contracts had already been signed. Since it was a verbal agreement, there was little recourse and more than a few people (including PSI) believed that we would be held to the contract. Several years ago, that's probably what would have happened. However, by posting our account of the story on our web site (as well as Usenet newsgroups and other Internet forums), we were able to make contact with scores of other people who had had similar run-ins. We used these contacts to pool our resources. When we went one step further and posted sound files of telephone conversations where PSI reps were clearly heard saying they supported the service we wanted, there was no way the issue could be avoided. PSI reacted, at first by threatening to sue us. That proved to be an even bigger mistake since individuals on the Net are particularly averse to legal threats by large corporations. Now newspapers were actually starting to take an interest in the case. PSI really had no choice. Shortly afterwards and without fanfare, they sent us a full refund. We believe they learned a valuable lesson and we have no hard feelings towards them. What happened was an honest mistake. It was their reaction that made them look bad and pressure from so many people that ultimately made them give in. We didn't have to sue them or waste an inordinate amount of time. All we had to do was speak up. The same kind of power in a different kind of way was felt with the Ed Cummings (Bernie S.) case, which we have been involved in for over a year now. In January of this year, the United States Secret Service managed to have Cummings locked up yet again for last year's charge of possessing technology that could be used to commit fraud. By being arrested last year, Cummings technically violated probation for an offense committed several years ago in a small Pennsylvania town. Because it was such a minor incident equal in seriousness to "insulting the flag" - nobody could ever have been expected to go to prison for it. However, the Secret Service made it their business to portray Cummings as a major threat to society. The judge, along with the probation officer and prosecutor who had previously said the case was of little significance, were heavily influenced by having the Secret Service come to their small town. Based on this image, he was put back in prison with murderers, rapists, and death row inmates. He was considered especially dangerous because the judge had set such a high bail $250,000. This, despite the fact that he was obviously not a flight risk, having shown up for numerous hearings where he could have been imprisoned on the spot. After several weeks, the judge conceded that the bail was too high and had it lowered to $100,000. In early March, the judge sentenced Cummings to 6 to 24 months, double the sentence of someone convicted of attempted murder in the same district. Under the law, he should be released on May 30, but the Secret Service may attempt to impose even more suffering on him by seeking to have that extended. Throughout this entire escapade, the Secret Service has said in every court appearance that some of the most disturbing evidence they found in Cummings possession was information on the Secret Service themselves - frequencies, addresses, codenames, and pictures that had been on a television show. Special Agent Thomas Varney has said under oath that any reasonable person would view this evidence as proof that Cummings was a threat to society. And this assumption was accepted by law enforcement, the legal system, the media, and, ultimately, the public. We decided to check into this. We found that all of this information was completely legal and available to the public. And, to emphasize the point, we made all of it (and more) available on our web page. The reaction was phenomenal; an average of around 1,000 visitors a day. And the irony was delightful; because the Secret Service overreacted at one person's possession of this material, millions of people around the world now had easy access to it. It may not have been enough to get Cummings freed, but it was enough to get his story into newspapers around the world and have the real issues of the case discussed at long last. We hope this new publicity will cause some heads to roll at the Secret Service and prevent this kind of thing from happening again to more of us. Regardless, Cummings has gained thousands of friends who will be with him in spirit until this ordeal ends. What we've done with the Net is what the Net has been designed for freedom of speech and instant access to relevant material. Being an already existing magazine gives us an advantage, but not a tremendous one. Any person could have done what we did with basic connectivity and strength of convictions. Individuals will continue to use the Net to outmaneuver bulky corporations, speak out against bureaucratic and repressive regimes, and take over where the mainstream media has failed us. And those who underestimate this power are in for a very rude awakening.