Desperately Seeking Karla: The Case of alt.fan.karla.homolka

Abstract

From the 1994 CAIS Conference:
The Information Industry in Transition
McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. May 25 - 27, 1994.

This paper discusses the debates and unanticipated consequences of the recent media ban instituted in the Karla Homolka trial in Southern Ontario. The issue of censorship versus free speech; electronic access to information surrounding the case and trial; legal differences between traditional print and broadcast media versus computerized media; and differing notions of free speech in the United States and Canada are examined. The Homolka case challenges information professionals in learning how to respond and formulate policies that deal with the growing complexity, in both social and legal terms, of new multi-media forms of communication.