LM_NET: Library Media Networking
Sorry if this is yet anoter controversial message, but I really feel all of
us as members of ALA should know our position, so we can agree or disagree,
according to our First Amendment rights.
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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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