Banned from the Internet

BANNED from
the Internet

On May 5, 1995, Chris Lamprecht became the first person to be banned from the Internet. Now he is challenging his restriction as an unconstitutional violation of the First Amendment right to Free Speech. (See ACLU v. Reno, 929 F.Supp.824 (E.D.Pa. 1996) holding that the Internet deserves the highest form of First Amendment protection).
Web Page Exhibits:
Letter from Chris Lamprecht describing the current status of his appeal
Sentencing Transcript Excerpt: Judge ordering the ban
Federal Judgment with Internet and computer restrictions
Excerpts from the federal habeas corpus petition challenging Internet restriction and computer programming restriction.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Parole Commission plan to add similar restrictions to ban parolees from the Internet and prohibit them from using or possessing encryption software (such as PGP, or even PKZIP since it has an option to encrypt). They also plan to add a condition that allows a probation officer to actually search and/or seize a parolee's computer to ensure compliance with these rules.

Check out:

Samples of these types of restrictions
The actual documents from the Parole Commission
Letter from President Clinton supporting these restrictions

For more information on Minor Threat's case

Go to http://www.paranoia.com/mthreat.

To contact Chris Lamprecht:

Click here for his mailing address in prison.