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I. INTRODUCTION
Principles underlying the First Amendment favor an information agora(1) promoting and embodying democratic ideals.(2) The pioneers of what is often called cyberspace,(3) the electronic environment through which the computer literati engage interactively, anticipate that this new frontier promises the opportunity for full participation in the electoral process as well as development of a flourishing computer-mediated information marketplace. The experiences of these computer-competent citizens (sometimes called "netizens"(4)) using the Internet,(5) a backbone for interconnecting computer-mediated communications globally, suggest that we now have within our grasp a technology designed to bring together like-minded individuals, regardless of where they live, work, or play, to engage in the creation of a new type of democratic community: a community unbounded by geographical, temporal, or other physical barriers.
These new experiments in democracy do not simply represent a futuristic vision. On the contrary, they pervade the electronic environment. Observers of online activity have recognized inclinations to preserve individual and group autonomy without governmental intrusion or authoritarian censorship. These inclinations are fully in accord with the motivations that brought the early pioneers to the new continent to preserve their religious independence, develop new frontiers, and exert self-determination in their systems of governance. Many of these new experiments have led to the development of user groups that look upon themselves as "virtual communities" entitled to deal with problems arising in the electronic environment as they find appropriate. Such virtual communities can be said to occupy separate and diverse cyberspaces, essentially carving out domains of their own over which they choose to exert jurisdiction. Therefore, the generic term "cyberspace" does not aptly describe these evolving communities. For the purpose of this Essay, I shall refer to the varying electronic domains as cyberspaces and refer to the whole as the "Networld."(6)
The unique quality of being able to post messages to and from everyone with an electronic address without editorial control or the intervention of elected representatives promises to become one of the most powerful democratic tools ever devised. Because these cyberspaces in the Networld ignore space, time, and physical circumstances, they remove the visual cues that often inhibit or facilitate communication. Furthermore, the marvels of digital communication have erased many of the prejudices that arise from these culturally specific visual cues. Therefore,...