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The Center for Democracy and Technology /____/ Volume 4, Number 22
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A briefing on public policy issues affecting civil liberties online
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CDT POLICY POST Volume 4, Number 22 September 24, 1998
CONTENTS:
(1) House Commerce Committee OKs the Oxley bill
(2) Background Information on HR 3783
(3) Subscription Information
(4) About CDT
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(1) House Commerce Committee OKs the Oxley bill
The House Commerce Committee passed the Child Online Protection Act (HR
3783) today. Like the Communications Decency Act, which was declared
unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last year, HR 3783, sponsored by Rep.
Michael Oxley (R-OH), threatens to chill free speech on the Internet. A
similar bill has already passed in the Senate, so a censorship bill could
very likely become law sometime this year.
At today's mark-up, the Committee voted for a new version of the bill which
would narrow its reach, but the bill remains unconstitutional because it:
1) imposes serious burdens on constitutionally-protected speech; 2) fails
to effectively serve the government's interest in protecting children; and
3) does not represent the least restrictive means of regulating speech.
The new version of the bill calls for a study that could help Congress to
identify the least restrictive means of regulating speech. However, since
the bill would go into effect before the study is completed, Congress is
clearly passing the law without knowledge of the effectiveness of existing
tools and other means to prevent children from accessing harmful content.
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(2) Background Information on HR 3783
For further information regarding this important piece of legislation,
please consult the following helpful links:
- Text of the Committee Amendment:
http://www.cdt.org/legislation/105th/speech/oxley.html
- Constitutional problems with HR 3783:
http://www.cdt.org/speech/copa/980924constitutional.html
- CDT's Analysis of the bill:
http://www.cdt.org/speech/copa/980917oxleycomments.html
- Summary of CDT Executive Director Jerry Berman's Testimony before the
House Subcommittee on Telecommunications (9/11/98):
http://www.cdt.org/testimony/980911jbermantestsum.html
- Original text of bill on Thomas:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.3783:
- CDT's List of Legislation Affecting Free Speech on the Internet
http://www.cdt.org/legislation/speech/
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(3) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
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(4) 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: http://www.cdt.org/
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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