Judge Reverses His Order Disabling Web Site

JUDGE REVERSES HIS ORDER DISABLING WEB SITE
[SOURCE: New York Times, AUTHOR: Jonathan Glater]
On Friday Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco withdrew his earlier order disabling a Web site that allows the anonymous posting of documents to discourage unethical behavior in governments and corporations. On Feb 15, Judge White ordered the American address of the site, Wikileaks.org, to be disabled at the request of Bank Julius Baer & Company, a Swiss banking company, and its Cayman Islands subsidiary. They charged that Wikileaks had posted confidential, personally identifiable account information on some of the bank’s customers. The judge’s action drew criticism -- and court filings -- from numerous organizations concerned that the order violated the First Amendment protection of free speech. Because Wikileaks operates sites, like Wikileaks.cx, in other countries, the documents were and are still widely available, both in the United States and elsewhere. In reversing himself at a hearing here on Friday, Judge White acknowledged that the bank’s request posed serious First Amendment questions and might constitute unjustified prior restraint. He also appeared visibly frustrated that technology might have outrun the law and that, as a result, the court might not be able to rein in information once it had been disclosed online.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/01/us/01wiki.html?ref=todayspaper
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