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News-oriented bloggers have contributed much to the public sphere in recent years. Whether or not bloggers are considered journalists and thereby are protected by shield laws will be an important question for policy makers and the courts. This paper provides an overview of the law concerning the constitutional and statutory privileges accorded journalists. It then critiques proposals to create a federal journalist's privilege as applied to bloggers. Finally, the paper argues that the test articulated in Von Bulow v. Von Bulow should be adopted in federal legislation. Under Von Bulow, bloggers would be shielded from disclosing confidential sources and information when they function as journalists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to monitor and record Internet users' personal information has raised fears about online privacy. Consequently, consumers have put pressure on the federal government and the online industry to respond appropriately to their privacy concerns. This study uses Edelman's theory of symbolic politics to assess the congruence between public concern about online privacy and recent legislative and industry efforts to address this concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the factors influencing the design of Democracy Network (DNet), by the Center for Governmental Studies in California. Features of the DNet design; Motivation of technical choices in DNet design; Implications of technical decisions on the society; Models shaping technical decisions; Influence of interactive television technology on DNet design.

Comments on the article `On the Regulation of Broadcast Indecency to Protect Children,' by Donnerstein, Wilson, and Linz (1992). The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in their view, has banned the broadcast of indecent speech based on the assumption that indecent speech harms children. Indecent speech as protect ed by the First Amendment; The courts' acceptance of additional justification for regulating broadcast of indecent speech; More.