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  The Center for Democracy and Technology  /____/     Volume 2, Number 13
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     A briefing on public policy issues affecting civil liberties online
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 CDT POLICY POST Volume 2, Number 13                       March 29, 1996

 CONTENTS: (1) Net-Friendly Legislators Announce Internet Caucus
           (2) Subscription Information
           (3) About CDT, contacting us

This document may be redistributed freely provided it remains in its entirety
       ** Excerpts may be re-posted by permission (editor@cdt.org) **
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(1) NET-FRIENDLY LEGISLATORS ANNOUNCE CONGRESSIONAL INTERNET CAUCUS

A bi-partisan group of members of both the House and Senate on Thursday
3/29 announced the formation of the Congressional Internet Caucus.  The
group, co-founded by Reps. Rick White (R-WA), Rick Boucher (D-VA), Senators
Larry Pressler (R-SD) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will work to educate members
of Congress about how the Internet works, bring more members of Congress
online, and encourage the use of the Net to facilitate better communication
between members of Congress and their constituents.

The formation of the Caucus represents a tremendous opportunity for the
Internet community to have an even more powerful voice in the many policy
debates affecting the future of the Internet. Additional Caucus members
include Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA), Rep. Chris Cox (R-CA), and Senator
Ron Wyden (D-OR). The Center for Democracy and Technology, the Progress and
Freedom Foundation, other public interest groups and industry associations
serve on the Caucus' advisory committee.

The Caucus has set up a World Wide Web page with information on its
activities and information on how to contact Caucus members:
http://www.house.gov/white/internet_caucus/netcauc.html

CAUCUS BORN OUT OF NEED TO EDUCATE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS ABOUT THE NET

In an historic move and an important overture to the Internet community,
Congressman Rick White on Friday March 29 presented an overview of the
Caucus and its goals via teleconference during a special session at the
Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference (CFP) in Boston MA.  CFP is an
annual gathering of the Internet community, law enforcement officials, and
representatives from the computer and communications industry.

During his presentation at CFP, Rep. White told the audience that the
Caucus was formed in part as a result of his frustration that, during the
course of the debate on the recently enacted Communications Decency Act,
many members of Congress voted for the CDA without any knowledge of what
the Internet is. White said that one of the primary goals of the Caucus is
to educate the Congress to ensure that future policy debates on Internet
issues such as Cryptography policy, copyright, and content regulations are
based on a full understanding of and familiarity with the Internet.

Members of Congress who join the Internet Caucus have pledged to the
following five principals:

* Open up Congress so that constituents can have more information from
  and more access to their elected representatives.

* Network with the Internet community to receive their input on the
  issues affecting the Internet that come before Congress.

* Learn more about how the Internet works and how to use it.

* Increase member's usage of the Internet by working to get more members
  of Congress online by the end of this year.

* In Ninety days, get online by maintaining a World Wide Web site and
  public email for constituents.

* Educate members of Congress about the Internet and raise the level of
  knowledge on upcoming Internet issues that Congress will deal with in
  the Information Age.

The formation of the Caucus comes not a moment too soon. In the wake of the
passage of the Communications Decency Act, Congress is poised to consider
several other issues which will have tremendous implications on the future
of the Internet, including Cryptography Policy and Copyright.  As we saw
with the passage of the Communications Decency Act, bad Internet policy is
the direct result of a lack of understanding of the Net and how it
functions. CDT looks forward to working with the Caucus to help educate
Congress on the nature of the Internet and to encourage the use of the
Internet to promote dialogue between members of Congress and their
constituents. CDT believes that the Internet Caucus will play a critical
role in ensuring that the concerns of the Internet community are
represented in Congress.

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(2) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION

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(3) ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY/CONTACTING US

The Center for Democracy and Technology is a non-profit public interest
organization based in Washington, DC. The Center's mission is to develop
and advocate public policies that advance democratic values and
constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications
technologies.

Contacting us:

General information:  info@cdt.org
World Wide Web:       URL:http://www.cdt.org/
FTP                   URL:ftp://ftp.cdt.org/pub/cdt/

Snail Mail:  The Center for Democracy and Technology
             1634 Eye Street NW * Suite 1100 * Washington, DC 20006
             (v) +1.202.637.9800 * (f) +1.202.637.0968

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End Policy Post 2.13                                           3/29/96
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