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MIT Students Ask Court to Vacate TRO; Who's Who in Computer Science and Security Sign Letter in Support

By Pamela Jones et al.

The MIT Students have now filed their response to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Motion to Modify the terms of the temporary restraining order it got from the court. There is also a letter from a group of computer science professors and computer scientists in support, along with two declarations and exhibits. They ask that the court reconsider and vacate the TRO to allow the students to publish their research for three reasons, which could be summed up as on the basis of "changed facts and manifest errors of law":

(1) the order is an unconstitutional prior restraint on First Amendment protected speech about their academic research,

(2) the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act does not prohibit communication of information about computers or computer security, and

(3) the MBTA's publication of the defendants' research and presentation slides undermines its claim to injunctive relief.

Illustrating the First Amendment issue, EFF, which is representing the students, points out in this statement by Kurt Opsahl that while the MBTA has been issuing statements to the media about the research, the students are unable to speak in response under the original TRO.

Full post as published by Groklaw on August 13, 2008 (boomark / email).