Minnesota Censorship Issue Is Still Active

Jun 07, 2009
iMEGA and state officials confirm no settlement yet It appears that the Poker Players Alliance claim to victory in short-circuiting a Minnesota enforcement department attempt to blacklist Internet gambling operations at ISP level (see previous InfoPowa reports) may have been premature. In a weekend statement, iMEGA chairman Joe Brennan Jnr., said that his organisation had engaged with the Minnesota attorney-general's office and the Department of Public Safety in efforts to reach a settlement, but that as of Friday no final agreement had been reached. "Press reports that iMEGA has declared victory in this matter are inaccurate," the statement reads. "While we cannot speak to whatever information other organizations or officials are basing their own public statements, it is the position of iMEGA, the Minnesota attorney-general and the Department of Public Safety that no settlement agreement exisits at this time, and that statements of other parties outside of the negotiation are speculative and premature. "However, it is our hope that this matter may be resolved as quickly as possible, so that Minnesota residents may rest easy and feel no threat of censorship of their Internet service." Brennan revealed that iMEGA legal specialists were still negotiating with the state Attorney General's office and the Department of Public Safety on "the language" of further letters to be sent to the ISPs, presumably withdrawing an earlier and badly researched demand for website blocks from a state enforcement official. Brennan's statement was confirmed by Dennis Smith, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, who commented: “No official settlement has been reached. This issue remains in the office of our counsel.”
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