- Minnesota Monitor - http://www.gopusa.com/minnesota/monitor -

Blocking websites of allegedly gambling sites - what's next?

Posted By David Anderson On May 8, 2009 at 10:48 am

What if Minnesota blocked domain names and IP’s of sites it objectively views as illegal and really aren’t? And without a hearing? What if they felt bloggers opinions were hate speech when in fact it is just protected free speech by blocking their IP by demand of Administrative and Bureaucratic Officials? What if China seized the domain names of U.S. Web sites promoting religions that China bans? Or what if Nebraska seized and shut down the domain name law.com because its cutting-edge legal content, that state believed, encourages frivolous litigation in violation of state law? The list is endless……. In terms of what if’s? Many of these sites are not hosted in Minnesota or even subject to Minnesota law but that isn’t stopping Minnesota from using an archaic law to enforce its subjective and unconstitutional process.

On April 29th, the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety announced it would require ISPs and telcos to block computers located in the state from accessing gambling sites, and said non-compliant companies would be referred to the FCC. Now, the state has sent each ISP and telco the enclosed blacklist of sites and URLs. http://www.imega.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/ab001dd4.pdf You will find a variety of online poker sites including establishments that do not even accept customers from the United States. The Department of Public Safety is also calling for companies to block telephone access to
he sites’ support numbers.

At issue is whether states and localities can legally restrict access to the Internet based on federal, city, county or state laws. Minnesota is invoking a law written before the Internet became widely accessible that pertains to common carriers -- such as the use of a telephone to call a bookie and place a bet.

Last year, Kentucky seized 141 Internet gambling domain names in an attempt to stop access to online gambling. The Kentucky Court of Appeals later stayed the forfeiture. http://www.eff.org/files/kentuckyorder.pdf Also is relevant information on domain names relevant to the Minnesota position that were raised in the Kentucky case: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/ky_v_domainnames/amicusbriefky_0.pdf

Minnesota delivered notices to AT&T Internet Services, Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, Direct TV, Dish Network, Embarq,
Sprint/Nextel, Frontier Communications, Qwest, Verizon Wireless, and Wildblue Communications, citing U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1084, (d) which pertains to common carriers. The law reads, in part:

"When any common carrier, subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Communications Commission, is notified in writing by a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency, acting within its jurisdiction, that any facility furnished by it is being used or will be used for the purpose of transmitting or receiving gambling information in interstate or foreign commerce in violation of federal, state or local law, it shall discontinue or refuse, the leasing, furnishing, or maintaining of such facility, after reasonable notice to the subscriber ... "

What is next, asking Google, Yahoo, Myspace, Facebook and others to block search results for sites that Minnesota subjectively declares a gambling website? Has AGED provided due process to any of these sites? You know notice and opportunity to be heard the cornerstone of law? Shouldn’t we as taxpayers be told who or what led to the concern of government censoring websites and IP addresses? How much are we as taxpayers expected to shell out for this big brother, big government regulation?

You can go to many of the websites and discover that many allow free play such as full tilt which I play on for free. How exactly is government going to decipher what is legitimate and what is not and should government be playing any role in that decision or not? Somebody needs to do a public information request through the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act to see what led to this call for scrutiny and needless expenditure of tax dollar money to begin with.

Poker players in Minnesota may be left with legal card rooms at racetracks and the state’s tribal casinos as the only options if the action to block 200 websites is successful. That should give us a clue that probably put the state up to this nonsense to begin with. Except those mentioned are all about gambling and many of the sites being blocked offer poker for free. Poker players throughout America should be very concerned, as should internet freedom lovers regardless of where they stand on gambling. Once we establish a process of government regulating the internet, where does it stop?

In a column published by PokerNewsDaily we find that the Director at AGED hadthis to say, “The list, which is only 200 out of literally thousands of websites, was selected at random without regards to what type of internet gambling each site is engaged in. Online poker would fall within that possibility.” So now we are making administrative decisions without due process on a range of possibilities? Citizens and taxpayers should find that disturbing. He further states that, “Online gambling has been held
to be illegal by the past three Attorney Generals and Minnesota is one of the first states to take action.”

I bet a person doesn’t have to look real hard to see the PAC, lobbyists, associations and individuals who may have donated to these last three Attorney General Candidates. But then we are talking illegal gambling and many of these sites offer poker for free. Hardly illegal now is it?

Interactive Media Entertainment and Gaming Association (iMEGA) Chairman Joe Brennan questioned the Government’s professionalism in generating its list. According to a statement found on iMEGA’s website, Brennan explained, “We question how much thought was put into the selection of these sites. To propose censoring Minnesota residents’ Web access and not
to know which sites are even in the U.S. market makes me wonder just how seriously the Department of Public Safety is taking this action. It comes off as a half-baked attempt at intimidation rather than thoughtful enforcement.” As I mentioned above the list of 200 was generated randomly without regard to what type of internet gambling each site was allegedly even engaged in.

I am all for state rights and limited government involvement but this is about the internet which was supposed to open markets, increase competition and access worldwide. Now I believe it is time for the federal government to step in and restrict the right of states to make these kinds of decisions. This is really about interstate commerce which means states have no right regulating under the Constitution of the United States. State bureaucrats and politicians are trying harder and harder to
restrict the internet as it cuts into various revenue streams. Here in Minnesota its gambling. If federal law isn’t implemented each state will carve up the internet, removing anything that they perceive as financially or socially negative, and the era of freedom we have enjoyed for two decades will end. Next if left uncheck will see hefty state by state taxes to supposedly “level the playing field” for local retailers, followed by restrictions on academic and political websites under the guise of “social
harm?”

Article printed from Minnesota Monitor: http://www.gopusa.com/minnesota/monitor

URL to article: http://www.gopusa.com/minnesota/monitor/?p=96

Click here to print.