The Cutting Edge: Computing / Technology / Innovation : Livermore Porn Story Draws Fire on Internet; The Times Solicits Reader Feedback
On July 12, The Times published a story about how a computer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was being used to store pornographic photographs and distribute them over the Internet. The porn database, which contained more than 1,000 images, was discovered by a Times reporter in the course of examining illicit activity on the Internet. The article also included details about Internet-linked computers at other institutions that were being used to distribute stolen computer software.
The story drew considerable attention from other media organizations around the country. It was also the target of vociferous criticism on some Internet news groups and computer bulletin boards. Here is a sampling of some of the responses from the Internet, most coming under the discussion heading LA Times Yellow Journalism.
* “The article, of which I have read only excerpts, is a journalistic hack.”
* “Journalism! I love it. I would probably cancel my subscription except that they do have a decent sports section.”
* “Without defending the L.A. Times in general, I think this article was quite reasonably written. Sure, some sensational possibilities were brought up, but ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING ELSEWHERE. . . . Bad stuff is happening on the Internet, and people need to know about it.”
* “I found the article to be misleading. It presented far too simplistic a view of what is taking place on the net, and therefore failed to be informative. . . . The other claim about this being one of the more serious breaches of security at the lab is laughable. It’s unfortunate that it happened, but it had nothing to do with hackers and everything to do with an employee misusing lab equipment.”
* “One can only assume that, since the Simpson case is no longer occupying the front page, something equally provocative must take its place.”
* “Frankly, why doesn’t the idiot media discover that the net is free-form and not run by idealistic almost communist sounding writers?”
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The following electronic mail messages were sent to the reporter who wrote the story. (The reporter is now the target of a barrage of electronic junk mail as a result of Internet users’ ire.):
* “Your E-Mail address is being widely disseminated on the USENET. Did you really write the article? Was it intentional, or are you kinda stoopid? See ya, wouldn’t want to be ya. The above opinions were formed while under the influence of mind-expanding drugs.” reptile@kaiwan.com
* “I did not read your article, but I hear you on NPR. . . . What the heck were you doing snooping around on the internet, anyway? . . . I just wish somebody would complain that the L.A. Times is hooked to the Internet.”mmorgan@solar.ee.stcloud.msus.edu
While some messages criticized particular aspects of the story, the overall on-line reaction appeared to reflect:
* A feeling that the mainstream media do not understand the Internet and the on-line world and poke their noses in only to be sensationalistic.
* The belief that the Internet must remain entirely free of any kind of supervision or security procedures lest its very nature be compromised.
* The resentment members of some communities often feel when the media simplify and generalize their activities in order to tell a story that will be comprehensible to the world at large.
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The story itself and the controversy it has engendered touch on some important issues about the Internet, computer security and the role of the media. We invite your comments on these issues, with responses to be printed in future Cutting Edge sections. Specifically, we are interested in your thoughts on how unethical or illegal activity on the Internet can or should be addressed and what the news media might do to improve coverage of this complex set of issues.
The original story is posted on The Well in the Media conference and on the Internet in the alt.internet.media-coverage newsgroup. Please keep your comments as concise as possible and include a telephone number or some other way to verify the identity of the author.
Please send responses to CuttingEdge@news.latimes.com, or fax to (213) 237-7837, or mail to Cutting Edge, Business Section, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053.
