Curtains On The Minnesota Issues....For Now

Through a press release on its web site iMEGA has announced that the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) has rescinded its order earlier issued to ISPs instructing them to block access to 200 online gambling web sites. John Willems the head of the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division (AGED) of the DPS also indicated that the state had decided to take the legislative route to regulate online gambling rather than the executive route. Willems did not acknowledge that the state was on a sticky wicket as far as the legalities of the issue were concerned.

However iMEGA deems this move by the AGED as a merit of the legal arguments that iMEGA had put forward. Joe Brennan Jr., chairman of iMEGA, said. “We’re very happy with the outcome. It was clear the public opposed this, and the swift negotiated settlement by DPS and AGED demonstrates both the merit of our suit and the shaky legal ground that the original ‘black list’ were based.” iMEGA will be immediately withdrawing the suit it had filed in the US District Court challenging the order. Brennan also praised the officials of the DPS, AGED and the Attorney-General’s office. Because of their “reasonable and professional” approach costly and time consuming legal battles have been avoided in Minnesota, unlike as in some other states. 

Though the matter seems resolved for the present it is definitely not dead and buried. Andy Skoogman, a spokesperson for the DPS, said that Internet censorship is still a desirable goal. He added, “The action raised awareness of the broader issue about who is policing the Internet and protecting the consumer.”