Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 19:01:45 -0400 (EDT)
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FINS SPECIAL REPORT July 31, 1995
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NO REGULATION OF SPEECH IN HOUSE TELECOM MEASURE [HR 1555]
Report Mandated on Laws Concerning Distribution of Obscenity
Washington, DC--The US House of Representatives has released its report on
the "Communications Act of 1995" and the revised bill as reported, July 24
[HR 1555; Rept. No. 104-204], and the measure contains no provision that
would regulate telecommunications speech. Nothing similar to the famous
Exon bill and "V-chips or choice chips" in TV sets, contained in the
Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act of 1995" past by the
Senate last month, are not included in the House bill. Instead, the House
would order a report on these matters to be prepared by the Attorney
General. The House report on HR 1555 states that "A fast-track study from
the Department of Justice, will provide Congress with a close examination
of the issues at stake and the recommendations of experts to deal with
obscenity and child ponography in the interactive media." The report also
recognizes that "Congress needs more information on the technologies
available to parents, teachers and others, that will give them control
over the kinds of material that children have access to over the Internet."
Sec. 110, of the bill calls for a report on means of restricting access
to unwanted material in interactive telecommunications systems. The full
text of the bill language is as follows:
(a) REPORT--Not later than 150 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committees on the
Judiciary and Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate and the
Committee on the Judiciary and Commerce of the House of Representatives
a report containing--
(1) an evaluation of the enforceability with respect to interactive
media of current criminal laws governing the distribution of obscenity
over computer networks and the creation and distribution of child
pornography by means of computers;
(2) an assessment of the Federal, State, and local law
enforcement resources that are currently available to enforce such laws;
(3) an evaluation of the technical means available--
(A) to enable parents to exercise control over the information
that their children receive by interactive telecommunications
systems so that children may avoid violent, sexually explicit,
harassing, offensive, and other unwanted material on such systems;
(B) to enable other users of such systems to exercise control
over the commercial and non-commercial information they receive by
such systems so that such users may avoid violent, sexually
explicit, harassing, offensive, and other unwanted material on
such systems; and
(C) to promote the free flow of information, consistent with
the values expressed in the Constitution, in interactive media; and
(4) recommendations on means of encouraging the development and
deployment of technology, including computer hardware and software, to
enable parents and other users of interactive telecommunications systems
to exercise the control described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of
paragraph (3).
(b) CONSULTATION.--In preparing the report under subsection (a), the
Attorney General shall consult with the Assistant Secretary of Commerce
for Communications and Information.
Vigdor Schreibman - FINS
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End of online-news-digest V1 #266
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