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June 17, 2002

[Rants]
Policy Group remains silent

A strange silence has descended over the Policy Group's mailing list (hosted at LMI), after members of the press were removed on the basis of a purported policy against journalists. It turned out that the policy in question was a CPTWG policy -- not a Policy Group policy -- but no explanation has been forthcoming and the members of the press have yet to be invited back.

Art Allison of the NAB, a long-time opponent of journalists' participation in CPTWG and Policy Group discussions who repeatedly threatened to boycott meetings if journalists were admitted, prompted the most recent expulsion of a journalist (on June 12). Allison asked whether there had been a "policy change" permitting journalists. Another participant wondered in reply whether, in fact, the Policy Group had ever actually created a rule forbidding journalists. (EFF asked the same question -- twice.)

Remarkably, there has been no reply to this question -- nor discussion of any other topic on the policyg mailing list for at least two weeks.

Posted by Seth Schoen at 04:26 PM