CYBERBOOZE FOR MINORS MAJOR ISSUE.Byline: Bob Dart Cox News Service The emerging economic struggle between traditional and cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general. See Internet and virtual reality. Contrast with meatspace. merchants was highlighted Friday as a media conflict erupted over fears of teens buying alcoholic beverages
``First it was cyperporn. Now it's cyberbooze,'' warned Americans for Responsible Alcohol Access, an advocacy group funded by retailers and wholesalers of beer, wine and spirits. An undercover sting operation Noun 1. sting operation - a complicated confidence game planned and executed with great care (especially an operation implemented by undercover agents to apprehend criminals) in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of showed underage customers could order alcoholic beverages from a World Wide Web site and have them shipped to their homes without proving their age - ``no questions asked,'' said Dennis Vacco Dennis Vacco was New York State Attorney General from November 8, 1994 through November 3, 1998. He was defeated for re-election in 1998 by Eliot Spitzer. Mr. Vacco graduated from the University at Buffalo Law School. , the state's attorney Noun 1. state's attorney - a prosecuting attorney for a state state attorney prosecuting attorney, prosecuting officer, prosecutor, public prosecutor - a government official who conducts criminal prosecutions on behalf of the state general. However, Vacco conceded that he knows of no instance outside of sting operations in which a teen-ager actually has ordered beer, wine or liquor over the Internet and received it. Cyberspace sellers charged that the issue is a bogus one promoted by traditional retailers and wholesalers worried about losing sales to the Internet. ``This is an emotional red herring Red Herring A preliminary registration statement that must be filed with the SEC describing a new issue of stock (IPO) and the prospects of the issuing company. Notes: ,'' said Jim Lowe, a spokesman for Hogs Head Beer Cellars, a beer-of-the-month club based in Greensboro, N.C. ``I don't care
"Don't Care" is a 1994 (see 1994 in music) single by American death metal band Obituary. what this advocacy group calls itself, it is basically the beverage wholesalers. Their primary concerns are themselves and their profits.'' The Internet sellers say they seek proof of age for their customers and bill purchases to credit cards. ``While it is not inconceivable for an underage person to order and receive beer, wine or spirits by mail order, the actual use of that mechanism is rare,'' the American Vintners Association said in a statement. The group, representing wineries in 41 states, noted that alcoholic beverages shipped to customers are unlikely to appeal to underage customers because they cost more than those sold in stores and take longer to reach the customer. ``Our beer sells for $27 for two six-packs,'' said Lowe, ridiculing the notion that a teen-ager would pay that much and then wait several days for delivery. The issue of children buying booze over the Internet sprang into the national consciousness Friday as Vacco told of his sting on several network news shows and then participated in a Washington press conference. In the undercover operation, 14 different commercial Internet sites - with names such as ``Virtual Vineyards'' and ``Liquor Loft Home Page'' - sold and delivered alcoholic beverages to underage customers recruited by his office, said Vacco. He is filing lawsuits against these sites. ``Teen-agers who can't legally buy a can of beer at the corner store can get virtually any type of alcoholic beverage alcoholic beverage Any fermented liquor, such as wine, beer, or distilled liquor, that contains ethyl alcohol, or ethanol, as an intoxicating agent. When an alcoholic beverage is ingested, the alcohol is rapidly absorbed in the stomach and intestines because it does not delivered right to their doorstep,'' he said. In a letter sent to attorneys general in the other 49 states, Vacco asked, ``How far are we going to allow technology and expediency ex·pe·di·en·cy n. pl. ex·pe·di·en·cies 1. Appropriateness to the purpose at hand; fitness. 2. Adherence to self-serving means: to usurp u·surp v. u·surped, u·surp·ing, u·surps v.tr. 1. To seize and hold (the power or rights of another, for example) by force and without legal authority. See Synonyms at appropriate. 2. safeguards against underage access and state revenues?'' In 21 states, including Florida, Georgia, Texas and North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , there are already laws against the direct shipment of alcoholic beverages to consumers. Indeed, in every state, millions of dollars of public revenues are at stake because alcoholic beverages are often heavily taxed on the state and local levels. Lowe questions such laws in an era of cybercommerce that crosses not only state lines, but international boundaries. He said he is licensed and pays taxes in North Carolina. He sees no difference between a customer ordering beer from the Hogs Head Internet store to be delivered to his home in Georgia and the same customer visiting the actual store, buying the beer and taking it home. However, Vacco said the cyberspace sale of alcoholic beverages across state lines amounts to ``virtual bootlegging bootlegging, in the United States, the illegal distribution or production of liquor and other highly taxed goods. First practiced when liquor taxes were high, bootlegging was instrumental in defeating early attempts to regulate the liquor business by taxation. .'' In addition to the lost tax revenues, the Internet sales also make illegal sales to minors harder to police, he said. With the traditional system, he said, such sales are discouraged because licenses can be pulled if the retailers or wholesalers are caught selling to minors. BOOZE ONLINE Online alcohol sales have been one of the few successful online retail ventures, with Forbes magazine estimating that direct shipments of wine approach $1 billion in sales annually. That figure includes buyers who call or mail orders, but doesn't include the sale of liquor and beer, both of which are growing online. PROS Buyers can get hard-to-find liquor, such as wine from small boutique growers or regional beer from other areas. Sellers - especially small entrepreneurs - can reach larger markets. CONS Underage drinkers can buy alcohol online with a credit card Online sales circumvent local sales taxes sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. Municipalities can't control the amount of alcohol brought into a community. This is especially irksome to ''dry`` areas that don't allow the retail sale of alcohol. LAWS Direct shipments of alcohol are illegal in 24 states. In Kentucky, direct shipment is a third-degree felony punishable with jail time and fines up to $20,000. Direct shipments into California are legal. A SAMPLING OF SITES www.beveragenet.net www.beerconnoisseur.com www.winebid.com www.virtualvin.com CAPTION(S): Box BOX: BOOZE ONLINE (see text) |
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