Church of Scientology vs. The Net

Boston-based techie Ron Newman has compiled the definitive resource on the single biggest threat to Internet freedom--Senator Exon notwithstanding--The Church of Scientology's legal maneuverings against its online critics. Claiming copyright protection for virtually everything related to Scientology, including the very word "scientology," the science-fictiony self-help cult has actually succeded in winning court approval for quasi-gestapo raids on several critics, seizing computers and floppy disks, rifling through private e-mail and in one case forcing the operator of an anonymous remailing service to cough up the name of a user. Recently, however, federal judges have been recoiling at Scientological excesses and turning the legal tide in favor of the Internet. Newman has archived or linked to just about every worthwhile article or court decision available on this truly frighetening case. The site is far from snazzy, but before it became an entertainment medium the Web was a means for sharing information--and Newman's site fulfills that promise completely with regard to one of the most important issues facing the Internet. (JV)

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