Help Save The Internet

Filed in archive Poker News on March 21, 2006

A lot of poker players are talking about the various bills now in Congress attempting to eradicate online poker. If you are confused and want more information or to know what you can do to help fight this invasion of privacy please check out the Poker Player's Alliance.

More than simply outlawing online gambling this would be the government's first major inroad to internet censorship and for that reason must be stopped. From the PPA website:

In Rep. Goodlatte´s legislation, Internet service providers (ISPs) are forced to remove gambling related hyperlinks upon court order.? Such mandates require ISPs to remove or disable access to online sites that the government deems violations.

This gives government employees the power to block you from accessing web sites simply by labeling them "gambling related".

Another interesting quote:

In permitting certain online forms of gambling, Kyl, Leach, and Goodlatte are all pursuing an ironic twist of which, only politicians are capable. They claim that passing such policy would signal that Congress is "purging itself" of the influence of infamous lobbyist Jack Abramoff, however, more shrewd observers have noted the opposite. When Mr. Abramoff scuttled an attempt to ban online gambling in 2000, his client was eLottery, and Mr. Abramoff´s goal was to legalize online lotteries by attaining special legal protections for them in the bill. Six years and one giant scandal later, Jack Abramoff would receive exactly what he set out to achieve.

Please visit the site, whether you are an online poker player or not, and send a letter to your local congressmen to help stamp out censorship.