________________________________________________________________
 _____                ____                       _
|  ___| __ ___  ___  / ___| _ __   ___  ___  ___| |__     Congress expected to
| |_ | '__/ _ \/ _ \ \___ \| '_ \ / _ \/ _ \/ __| '_ \    vote by Oct 10 on
|  _|| | |  __/  __/  ___) | |_) |  __/  __/ (__| | | |   Net Censorship Bills
|_|  |_|  \___|\___| |____/| .__/ \___|\___|\___|_| |_|        ACT NOW!!
	                   |_|

      POSTED: October 1, 1998.  Please distribute until October 10, 1998

  This Alert brought to you by the Center for Democracy and Technology
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Table of Contents

(1) ALERT - Use CDT's New Digital Democracy Site - http://www.cdt.org/action
(2) Background on Oxley-Coats "Harmful to Minors" Bills
(3) About the Center for Democracy and Technology

_________________________________________________________________
(1) ALERT -- Call Congress NOW to Stop Government Censorship of the Internet

They're at it again.  The House and Senate are likely to vote before
October 10, 1998 on new Internet censorship bills.

To make it easier for your voice to be heard, CDT is launching a new
resource for online activism. Our Digital Democracy site is at
http://www.cdt.org/action/
Visit it to find out how you can contact your member of Congress and US
Senators before it's too late.  Five minutes of your time will go a VERY
long way.

Please forward this message to friends who share a concern about freedom of
expression on the Net.

________________________________________________________________
(2) BACKGROUND ON OXLEY-COATS "HARMFUL TO MINORS" BILLS

The bills, HR 3783 sponsored by Rep Michael Oxley (R-OH) in the House and S
1482 sponsored by Sen Dan Coats (R-IN) in the Senate, pose a serious risk
to freedom of speech and privacy on the Internet.

Specifically, the bills:

* RESTRICT CONSITITUTIONALLY PROTECTED SPEECH

These bills criminalize the use of use of the World Wide Web to distribute
material that is 'harmful to minors.' This could result in sweeping censorship
of non-pornographic sites, including online booksellers and CD stores, and
even the Starr Report!  This overly broad legislation reduces adult discourse
to the level suitable for children, which the Supreme Court has repeatedly
ruled
unconstitional.

* DO NOT PROVIDE AN EFFECTIVE MEANS OF PROTECTING CHILDREN

The Internet is a global medium, and content flows easily across state and
national boundaries.  As a result, no US law can effectively protect children
from materials on web sites overseas.  CDT believes that parents, not the
federal government, are in the best position to determine what materials
are right for their kids, and that user-based controls are a more effective
and far less restrictive alternative to government censorship.

* FORCE INTERNET USERS TO SURRENDER THEIR PRIVACY TO EXERCISE THEIR FIRST
AMENDMENT RIGHT

The bills require that Internet users reveal sensitive personal
information, (such as name, credit card number and address), in order to
gain access to constitutionally protected speech. That's like asking
patrons of bookstores or record stores to verify their identity before
being able to browse the shelves. And the information, once collected,
becomes a permanent record, subject to disclosure and misuse.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

All the information you need, including the text of the bills, analysis,
background on the 1997 Supreme Court ruling on Internet censorship, and
contact information for your members of Congress and US Senators can be
found through CDT's Digital Democracy page:

                       http://www.cdt.org/action/
_____________________________________________________________
(3) ABOUT THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY

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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