Steve Case's letter to members about child pornography on America Online. 

   Parts of this letter were pasted verbatim into AOL's responses to Barry 
   Crimmins. 
  
   Case fails to mention that some of the child pornography was 
   downloaded directly from AOL's file libraries, which were insufficiently
   monitored.


1/6 Community Update

Ever since we first launched America Online we've remained committed to
fostering an electronic community that provides a fun, enjoyable and
enriching experience for all members.  We've asked our members to honor the
privilege of interactivity, and we've strictly enforced our Terms of Service
to help foster the kind of community of which we can all be proud.  Recently,
however, some material has been brought to our attention by some of our
members which involves illegal activity -- the trading of images in
electronic mail which appear to be child pornography.  Upon receiving the
material, and verifying that it was a violation of our Terms of Service, and
in all likelihood illegal, we immediately contacted the FBI and terminated
the accounts of the senders.

While we recognize that any community around the United States with more than
1.5 million citizens will have its share of illegal activity, we were
nonetheless disheartened to find that some members are abusing the
communications features of AOL in this way.  We simply will not tolerate such
illegal activity on America Online.  To anyone who may be using America
Online for illegal purposes, be advised that we will terminate the accounts
of those participating and we will notify the proper authorities of any
illegal activity that is brought to our attention. 

Our policy is that all private communications -- including e-mail, instant
messages, and private chat rooms -- are strictly private.  We do not, will
not, and legally cannot monitor any private communications.   But if we are
alerted to a potential offense and we are sent evidence, as we were recently,
we will vigorously pursue the matter.   In this case, electronic mail was
forwarded to our attention by our members, and as recipients of the mail we
were able to turn the material over to the authorities.   

We have over 250 people who help us provide assistance in the public areas of
the service and give guidance to members who are new or who have questions.
Of late, we've had a growing problem with member-created rooms whose title
and discussion violate our Terms of Service.  Member-created rooms have
always been a unique and much-valued aspect of America Online.  Often, these
rooms provide the seeds for new special interest forums that later emerge.
But as more members abuse the privilege and establish rooms that suggest
illegal activity, or detract from the enjoyment of others with offensive
titles, we are faced with looking at a higher level of safeguards as it
relates to member-created rooms.  We simply cannot keep up with the sheer
volume of rooms created, and as a result, from time to time rooms that
violate TOS remain open for some period of time.  We're looking at several
alternatives to improve the situation.  We don't want to see our members
denied the privilege of this fun and creative interactive environment due to
the abuses of a few, but at the same time we do feel some action is warranted
to safeguard this popular "neighborhood" in our community.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have encountered this problem,
nor is it unique to AOL.  In 1991, we were faced with a similar situation. At
that time, we went to our members -- as we're doing now -- advised them of
the situation and asked for their help.  And recently, recognizing the
potential for abuses in this emerging medium, online service providers banded
together to sponsor a "child safety" brochure that gives parents tips and
guidelines to foster a productive and safe environment for children online. A
copy of this brochure can be found in the Parents Information Center,
keyword:  Parents.  We encourage parents to take the time to review it.  In
addition we strongly encourage parents to monitor their children's use of
this medium, much as they would any other medium such as television,
magazines, etc.  We've also implemented "parental controls" which allow
parents to restrict their children's online access.

Each one of us needs to respect and honor the privileges of this electronic
community.  If you haven't reviewed our Terms of Service, take a few minutes
now and do so.  If you observe what you believe may be illegal activity on
AOL, bring it to our attention.  The problem is not widespread -- we believe
only a mere fraction of this community is involved.  Let's work together to
insure that America Online remains the kind of community that you want your
friends and family to enjoy.

Thanks for your continued support. 


Transmitted: 95-01-06 17:07:42 EST