The American Civil Liberties Union announced Wednesday it is appealing a Boston judge's order, in a lawsuit brought by Mattel against the "cphack" authors, prohibiting the distribution of the program that reveals Cyber Patrol's blacklisted sites.
The ACLU is representing three U.S. website operators who "mirrored" the original decoding program.
U.S. District Judge Edward Harrington's order released last week says anyone who is acting "in active concert" with the authors of the "cphack" utility must take down their websites or face potential jail time for contempt of court.
"The legal issue here is whether a Boston court has jurisdiction over the entire Internet, and our answer to that is a resounding 'no,'" said ACLU senior staff attorney Chris Hansen. "The larger issue is whether Cyber Patrol and other software companies are going to tell the American public exactly what their software blocks, especially when Congress wants to force both children and adults to use it."
The ACLU has also asked Judge Harrington to stay his order while the appeal goes forward. Until a decision is reached, the website's owners have removed their mirrored copies of the decoding program.
If Harrington rejects the request for a stay, ACLU officials say they will turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.
