ALAWON v4n100 (December 5, 1995)
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/alawon/alawon-v4n100

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                                                   ISSN 1069-7799
                             ALAWON
                 ALA Washington Office Newsline
               An electronic publication of the
         American Library Association Washington Office

                      Volume 4, Number 100
                        December 5, 1995

In this issue: (148 lines)
     VOTE IMMINENT ON CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR "INTERNET INDECENCY"
          BY HOUSE-SENATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM CONFEREES

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  VOTE IMMINENT ON CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR "INTERNET INDECENCY"
      BY HOUSE-SENATE TELECOMMUNICATIONS REFORM CONFEREES

As of this writing, members of the Conference Committee appointed
to reconcile differences in telecommunications reform bills
passed independently by the House and Senate as "S. 652" are
scheduled to resume the conference tomorrow, Wednesday morning -
December 6, at 9:00 a.m. in the hopes of reaching agreement on a
unified bill that may be sent back to both chambers for final
approval.

The first order of business reportedly will be an amendment by
Rep. Henry Hyde (R-IL), Chairman of the House Judiciary
Committee, intended to outlaw the use of computers to make or
make available "indecent" communications through any
"telecommunications device."  The Hyde Amendment, which is backed
by a number of conservative religious organizations, has been
opposed by many in the educational and library community
(including ALA, as detailed below) because it would almost
certainly subject librarians and educators to new and stiff
criminal penalties for using the Internet and other electronic
resources to perform core library and educational functions.

An alternative to Rep. Hyde's approach, which also will be
offered as an amendment at tomorrow's meeting, has been crafted
by freshman Rep. Rick White (R-WA).  Because it too includes
potential new criminal liability for the transmission or display
of material "harmful to minors," these communities have not
endorsed the White Amendment, per se.  It does, however, include
several proposals for which library advocates, including the
Washington Office, pushed hard.  These provisions include
assurance that libraries which **choose** to filter Internet
content for young users will be able to take advantage of
provisions in the law insulating them from liability, and
language preempting individual states from regulating libraries
and schools more strictly than any new federal law would.

As indicated above, ALA has been active directly with
congressional offices, with other library organizations, and with
broader coalitions of public interest and industry groups.  In
the process surrounding the telecommunications conference, ALA's
message to House-Senate conferees has been:

 * No new federal intervention to govern Internet content is
needed at this time; current federal and state statutes are
adequate.

 * IF Congress feels that it must act to impose such new
controls, the Cox/Wyden "carrot," rather than the Exon/Hyde
"stick" approach is preferable, but the "carrot" approach should
be modified to assure that it also explicitly protects libraries
and educational institutions from liability.

Most recently, ALA worked to help develop and signed onto a
December 4 letter to conferees from a dozen education and library
groups, including ALA.  This letter, written in anticipation of
an imminent vote, urged conferees to oppose the Hyde amendment
discussed above.  While the letter from the 12 organizations also
acknowledged Rep. White's efforts to address the concerns of
librarians and educators, it did not endorse the White proposal.

The December 4 letter, made three main points:

 * The Hyde amendment would criminalize a vaguely defined and
overly broad range of electronic communication, subjecting
educational institutions and libraries to criminal liability, and
severely impairing the ability of these institutions and
libraries to provide students and young people with access to
computer networks.

 * If Congress must legislate further in this area it should at a
minimum reject criminal liability based on an undefined
"indecency" standard, limiting liability to transmission of
material that is "harmful to minors."

 * In any legislation, Congress should assure that librarians and
educators may continue to develop the educational benefits of
electronic communication by limiting library and educational
institution exposure to criminal liability under disparate state
laws.

The 12 organizations signing the December 4 letter to conferees
on S. 652 were:

     American Association of Community Colleges
     American Association of Law Libraries
     American Association of State Colleges and Universities
     American Council on Education
     American Library Association
     Association of American Universities
     Association of Research Libraries
     Coalition for Networked Information
     Computing Research Association
     EDUCOM
     National Association of Independent Colleges
          and Universities
     National Association of State Universities
          and Land-Grant Colleges

House-Senate conferees are clearly in a critical last-minute push
to iron out the differences between the two versions of S.652 and
to send this bill forward to the House and Senate floors for
final approval.
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ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is an irregular publication of the
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Contributing to this issue: Carol C. Henderson and Adam M.
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