[44621] in Cypherpunks
Compromise on Cyberporn Legislation
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Michael Coates)
Mon Dec 4 00:24:17 1995
Date: Sun, 03 Dec 1995 21:14:29
From: OpsAn@gnn.com (Michael Coates)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Just got this. Maybe there is some common-sense surfacing.
COMPROMISE ON CYBERPORN LEGISLATION
The fears of online service providers and civil liberties advocates that new
federal telecommunications legislation would be too heavy-handed in its
effort to keep "filthy," "lewd" and "indecent" material off of the network
have been mitigated by compromise wording in the proposed legislation. The
new language, offered by Washington State Republican congressman Rick White,
restricts penalties of fine or imprisonment to persons who transmit material
that is "harmful to children" (such as images of frontal nudity) rather than
a more broadly worded target against making "indecent material" available to
children. The compromise would give legal protection to online information
and service providers who made good-faith efforts to keep restricted
material away from children. (New York Times 2 Dec 95 A1)
