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C D T P O L I C Y P O S T
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A BRIEFING ON PUBLIC POLICY ISSUES
AFFECTING CIVIL LIBERTIES ONLINE
from
THE CENTER FOR DEMOCRACY AND TECHNOLOGY
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Volume 5, Number 18 August 16, 1999
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CONTENTS:
(1) GetNetWise Launched: User Empowerment Solutions
(2) Background on User Empowerment
(3) Legislation Mandating Filtering in Schools & Libraries Continues
(4) Briefs Due in Court Challenge to CDA II
(5) Subscription Information
(6) About the Center for Democracy and Technology
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This document is also available at:
http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_5.18.html
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(1) GetNetWise LAUNCHED: USER EMPOWERMENT SOLUTIONS
On July 29, Internet companies and nonprofit organizations, including CDT
and the Internet Education Foundation, publicly launched a new online
safety resource designed to help families and caregivers make decisions
about their children's use of the Internet.
The resource, called GetNetWise, gives Internet users ready access to a
wide range of tools. The central web site includes a searchable database
of over eighty-five user empowerment products, consumer information
explaining how the tools work, information on recognizing and reporting
online trouble, an online safety guide, and pointers to good sites for kids
and families.
The companies involved in GetNetWise include eight of the Internet's ten
most visited sites, as well as thousands of additional highly-trafficked
Web pages. These participants have agreed to provide links to
GetNetWise.org, to mirror the central resource's content, or to provide
content of their own that is the functional equivalent of the central
resource. The end result is an unprecedented degree of reach -- when the
project is fully implemented, about 95% of Internet users will view Web
sites including GetNetWise content each month.
For a look at GetNetWise's impressive resources, visit the site at
http://www.getnetwise.org/.
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(2) BACKGROUND ON USER EMPOWERMENT
CDT has been a leading advocate of the user empowerment vision of the
Internet. Our concept is based on the premise that the Internet, compared
with other media, is uniquely user-controlled, meaning that the technology
can empower individuals and families to control what they see, so that
corporate or governmental censorship is unnecessary.
This vision was central to the rationale of the Supreme Court's landmark
1997 decision on Internet censorship. In striking down the Communications
Decency Act, the Court noted that "a reasonably effective method by which
parents can prevent their children from accessing sexually explicit and
other material which parents may believe is inappropriate for their
children will soon be available." Since 1997, there have been efforts to
make such resources more readily available to parents - to make them "one
click away" from any site on the Internet. GetNetWise is a culmination of
those efforts.
User-controlled filtering and blocking software is just one aspect of user
empowerment. Other resources include search engines geared for kids, time
controls, and software that allows parents or caregivers to keep track of
sites and chat areas visited. The important characteristics of these
resources are that they are diverse and truly voluntary. Unlike
legislative approaches, they protect children and assist parents and
caretakers regardless of whether the material to be avoided is on a US or
foreign Web site. They respond to the values of different communities and
families. They are flexible and can be updated regularly. They may not be
perfect, but they are better than government decisions about content.
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(3) LEGISLATION MANDATING FILTERING IN SCHOOLS & LIBRARIES CONTINUES
Still, many in Congress haven't gotten the user empowerment message. On
June 24, the Senate Commerce Committee approved the Children's Internet
Protection Act (S. 97). The bill mandates that all schools and libraries
receiving federal assistance in connecting to the Internet must install
and use technology that:
* blocks or filters obscene material,
* blocks or filters child pornography, and
* may be -- but is not required to be -- used by local authorities to block
or filter materials deemed "inappropriate for minors."
CDT believes that there is a world of difference between mandatory
filtering of the type required by S. 97 and the kind of voluntary, diverse,
localized, user-controlled filtering supported by GetNetWise. CDT is
working with a wide range of other organizations to oppose mandatory
filtering.
We expect that S. 97 may be attached as a rider to one of the
appropriations bills that the Senate must consider in the Fall. Also, the
House passed a similar filtering bill as an amendment to the juvenile
justice bill in June. No such similar language was attached to the Senate
juvenile justice bill, so retention of the amendment in the juvenile
justice bill is up to the conference committee that has been appointed.
A number of states also are considering similar legislation requiring
schools and libraries to install filtering products on publicly funded or
publicly accessible computers with Internet access.
For further background on the mandatory filtering bills, see
http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_5.11.html
http://www.cdt.org/publications/pp_5.12.html
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(4) BRIEFS DUE IN COURT CHALLENGE TO CDA II
Meanwhile, CDT has begun work on an amicus brief to be filed in the Third
Circuit Court of Appeals on Congress' second attempt to regulate content
on the Internet, the Children's Online Protection Act of 1998 (COPA). A
Philadelphia district court found the statute unconstitutional and enjoined
its enforcement. The government has appealed. Amici briefs opposing COPA
are due on September 1, 1999.
For background on the challenge to CDA II, see
http://www.cdt.org/speech/
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(5) SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Be sure you are up to date on the latest public policy issues affecting
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publication of the Center for Democracy and Technology, are received by
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critical free speech and privacy issues affecting the Internet and other
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(6) 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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