ACLU Defends Online Casinos From Kentucky Courts
Several groups from outside the world of Internet gambling, including the American Civil Liberties Union, asked a Kentucky appeals court to vacate a lower court's order seizing the domain names of 141 online casinos. The ACLU joined with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Center for Democracy and Technology in filing as a friend of the court.
The organizations argue that Judge Thomas Wingate's decision to force the forfeiture of Internet casino domain names ignores several provisions of the Constitution, including the Commerce Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the First Amendment.
Matt Zimmerman, attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said, "If the mere ability to access a website gives every court on the planet the authority to seize a domain name if a site's content is in some way inconsistent with local law, the laws of the most world's most repressive regimes will effectively control cyberspace."
John Morris, representing the Center for Democracy and Technology, said, "If the Kentucky order is upheld, no speech that conflicts with any law, anywhere in the world, would be safe from censorship.Just as Kentucky is trying to take down sites located around the world, any government seeking to stifle free expression could try to interfere with lawful speech hosted in the United States."
An attorney with the ACLU noted that precedent in free speech cases prevents government prohibition of websites in all cases.
The Kentucky action has outraged observers far outside the realm of online gambling. A website, BoycottKentucky.com, was formed to enlist supporters to an anti-Kentucky boycott. The boycott was first proposed by Online Casino Advisory gambling analyst Sherman Bradley, as a way to respond to Governor Steve Beshear's actions.
