Online speech: Porn, spam, and political disclosure

Congress's first attempt at regulating online speech--the Communications Decency Act--was canned in June by the Supreme Court, which stated the Net deserved the same First Amendment protection as print media. Without the CDA, lawmakers are now looking for alternate ways to keep children out of

Legislation to watch

Signed into law

the Net's red-light districts. Regulating unsolicited email is another hot topic. On the other hand, some members are pushing for more digital communication on their end--a slew of bills on the table look to require online campaign finance filings.

Minors and Sexually Explicit Material

Selling online pornography to minors
Introduced by Sen. Dan Coats (R-Indiana)

Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit commercial Web sites from distributing to those under age 17 any material that is "harmful to minors," which includes messages or Web sites that depict actual or simulated sexual acts. The material would have to "lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value" to fall under the law. Violators could be fined up to $50,000 and imprisoned for six months.

Status Referred to the Senate Commerce Committee. Previous coverage •  CDA sequel introduced, November 12, 1997 •  CDA's death sparks legislation trend, June 27, 1997

Net access and sexual predators Introduced by Rep. Marge Roukema (R-New Jersey)

Amends the Communications Act of 1934 to prohibit Net service providers from giving accounts to "sexually violent predators." ISPs would be fined up to $5,000 for each violation.

Status Referred to House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection. Previous coverage •  Man sues to keep photo off police site, November 6, 1997 •  Prostitution arrests posted online, October 27, 1997 •  Antiporn group targets ISPs, April 21, 1997

Protecting Children from Internet Predators Act Introduced by Rep. Jerry Weller (R-Illinois)

Makes it a felony to use a computer network to send sexually explicit messages to a minor under the age of 16. Violators could get up to five years in prison.

Status Referred to House Judiciary Committee. Previous coverage •  CDA sequel introduced, November 12, 1997 •  Legislator posts sex crime list, October 21, 1997 •  AOL to post photos of missing kids, July 29, 1997

Family-Friendly Internet Access Act
Introduced by Rep. Joseph McDade (R-Pennsylvania )

Internet Freedom and Child Protection Act
Introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-California)

Each bill requires that Internet service providers offer Net filtering software to customers for a price or free.

Status Referred to various committees. Previous coverage •  Bill to nail CDA's coffin, February 14, 1997

Spam

Netizens Protection Act
Introduced by Rep. Chris Smith (R-New Jersey)

Bans commercial spam by amending the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991. Smith's bill would extend that fax law to cover junk email but would "protect" communications between people who have existing business or personal relationships.

Status Referred to House Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

Unsolicited Commercial Electronic Mail Choice Act
Introduced by Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska)

Does not prohibit spam outright but would require senders to label email messages as advertisements. If the bill is passed, Internet service providers across the country also will have to take it upon themselves to screen all unsolicited messages for customers that ask them to do so.

Status Referred to Senate Commerce Committee. Previous coverage •  FTC searches for spam solution, June 12, 1997 •  Congress considers two spam fixes, May 21, 1997

Electronic Mailbox Protection Act
Introduced by Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-New Jersey)

Prohibits sending unsolicited email from fictitious email addresses or without an accurate address for replying. Spammers that don't remove people from their list upon request, continue to distribute email to Net users who have said they don't want the messages, or ignore Net access providers' policies against spam could be fined up to $5,000.

Status Referred to Senate Commerce Committee. Previous coverage •  Group shuns government on spam, June 24, 1997 •  FTC searches for spam solution, June 12, 1997

Campaigns

Internet Election Information Act
Introduced by Rep. Rick White (R-Washington)

Amends the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 to require that Internet access providers and online services let candidates use their services free of charge to disseminate campaign information and encourage public debate through online chats and bulletin boards, for example.

Status Under consideration by House Oversight Committee.

Citizens' Right to Know Act
Introduced by Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Michigan)

Campaign Finance Reform Act
Introduced by Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri)

Campaign Finance Sunshine Act
Introduced by Rep. Merrill Cook (R-Utah)

Electronic Campaign Filing and Disclosure Act
Introduced by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia)

Rivers's bill requires candidates for the House of Representatives and Senate to file electronically quarterly campaign contribution reports with the Federal Election Commission within 48 hours of the time the information becomes available, so that the data can be posted on the Internet. Gephardt's bill is similar, but also limits nonfederal campaign financing. Finally, both Cook's and Goodlatte's bills would make the finance reports available to the public within 24 hours of receipt. The bills will likely be reconciled in committee.

Status All four bills referred to House Oversight Committee.

Back to: Main story