Late in 1999, eToys.com chose to sue etoy.com for the use of the domain name. In an initial hearing, a judge in Los Angeles has sided with eToys.com and forced etoy.com to shut down its website, discontinue use of the name etoy.com, and prohibited the artists from selling their work in the United States. Apparently under pressure from eToys, Network Solutions put the entire domain etoy.com on hold, preventing the artists to communicate via email with the press and their fans.

Following a groundswell of support after the injunction was issued, in which dozens of protest sites were set up, more than a hundred articles critical of eToys were published, and thousands of angry letters were sent to eToys and the media, eToys has finally reacted. In press releases issued just after the Christmas shopping season ended, they claimed that they were never opposed to freedom of expression on the internet, that they want to peacefully co-exist with etoy.com, and that they would "no longer press the lawsuit." To date, etoy and their lawyer have not received a concrete proposal from eToys. No apology has been issued, the etoy.com domain is still blocked, the lawsuit has not been dropped, and etoy.com is out $50,000 in lawyer's fees.

Do you want the internet to become one giant shopping mall where free speech and artistic expression are tolerated only as long as they don't threaten corporate profits? If not, then now is the time to make your voice heard. Support the boycott of eToys. Write to your friends, alerting them of eToys' attempt to suppress internet art.

(thanks go to eviltoy.com )