>Date: Fri, 3 Mar 1995 07:19:58 -0800 >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Originator: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Precedence: bulk >From: "Shabbir J. Safdar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> (by way of [EMAIL PROTECTED] >(Richard > K.)) >Subject: cr-3/3> VTW Coalition re: S.314 >X-Comment: Moore's CPSR Cyber Rights Email List > >Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 17:56:49 -0800 >Sender: "Shabbir J. Safdar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: ACTION: Contact Senate on Exon bill > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > CAMPAIGN TO STOP THE US COMMUNICATIONS DECENCY ACT (S. 314) > > PLEASE WIDELY REDISTRIBUTE THIS DOCUMENT WITH THIS BANNER INTACT > DO NOT REDISTRIBUTE AFTER MAY 1, 1995 > Feb. 22, 1995 > > Distributed by the Voters Telecommunications Watch ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) >------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >[In order to use the net more effectively, the following organizations have > joined forces on a single Congressional net campaign to stop the > Communications Decency Act, S. 314 (in alphabetical order): > > the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), > the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), > the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), > the Electronic Frontier Foundation-Austin (EFF-Austin), > (Note that EFF-Austin is not a chapter of the DC-based EFF) > the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), > the Hands Off! the Net petition drive, > the People for the American Way, > the Society for Electronic Access (SEA), and > the Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW) > > These organizations are using the Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW) > as a conduit for legislative feedback. When you contact Congress about the > Communications Decency Act and send your feedback to [EMAIL PROTECTED], that > information is being fed back to all participating organizations. > > If your organization would like to signon to this campaign and receive > legislative feedback, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > -Shabbir] > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >CONTENTS > Introduction > What you can do > Contact Information > Background > Current status of S. 314 > Where can I learn more about the bill? (URL included) > Where will I learn about updates to this alert? > Current list of participating organizations > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >INTRODUCTION > >Dear Net Citizens: > >Legislation has been introduced before the Senate which would severely >restrict your freedom of speech, halt the free flow of information on >the net, and require all telecommunications carriers to censor your >public and private communications. > >The "Communications Decency Act of 1995" (S. 314), introduced in early >February by Senators Exon (D-NE) and Gorton (R-WA), would place >substantial criminal liability on telecommunications carriers (including >traditional telephone networks, Internet service providers, commercial >online services such as America Online and Compuserve, and independent >BBS's) whenever their networks are used to transmit any material >which is deemed indecent or harassing. In order to avoid these penalties, >carriers would be forced to restrict the activities of their subscribers >and censor all public and private communications. > >We must act quickly to stop the progress of S. 314. The bill may soon >be incorporated into Senate telecommunications reform legislation, which >is currently being drafted by the Senate Commerce Committee. The >telecommunications reform bill may be introduced as early as mid March, >and is expected to be considered on a fast track. If S. 314 is included >in this bill, it will be extremely difficult to change or remove and >could pass quickly. > >We are asking you to join us in urging key members of the Senate to >prevent S. 314 from being included in Senate telecommunications reform >measures and to hold open, public hearings on the issue. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >WHAT YOU CAN DO (IN ONLY FIVE MINUTES) > > > >1. Contact Sen. Larry Pressler (R-SD, Commerce Committee Chairman), > Sen. Bob Packwood (R-OR) and Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-SC, ranking > member) and urge them to keep S.314 from being incorporated into > telecommunications reform legislation. You'll find their addresses, > phone numbers, and fax numbers below. > > Also, if you live in: > > AK AZ HI KY LA MA ME MO MS MT ND NE NV OR SC SD TX WA WV > > you should also contact your own Senator from the Commerce committee. > Remember, the best and most effective means of influencing a member of > Congress is to write a letter in your own words. > >2. Write/Fax/Email them a letter or make a phone call. Try to mention > as as many of the points below (marked with a *) as you can fit > politely into communication. > >3. DON'T FORGET TO DROP A NOTE TO [EMAIL PROTECTED] to tell us who you contacted. > We'll tally the results and feed them back to all participating > organizations. It's crucial we have this feedback, even if you just > got a form letter, or a "thank you" to your phone call. > >4. Feel good about yourself. You've just participated in democracy > without leaving your seat. > >5. (Extra bonus activism) Reproduce this alert with the expiration date > and contact information intact to other non-Usenet places. Fax it > to your friends, post a copy to your local bulletin board. Please don't > spam it to places like rec.pets.cats, but place it in places where people > who don't read a lot of Usenet might see it. Non-net connected BBSs are > great, as are physical bulletin boards. Please don't post it to email > lists or newsgroups not related to politics, as this will annoy people. > > Most especially, try to reach people in the larger online services, > such as America OnLine and Compuserve and the large PC networks, such > as Fidonet. > >When writing a letter or making a phone call, try to include the following >points in your message: > >* S. 314 must not be incorporated into the Senate telecommunications > reform bill. > >* The bill would force communications service providers to limit or > remove my access to file archives, discussion forums, and > electronic mail. > >* S. 314 would dramatically restrict the free flow of information > through out the online world and limit the free speech and privacy > rights of individual users. > >* Placing criminal liability on communications service providers > will force providers to censor the activities of their > subscribers. > >* As a user of interactive communications technologies, I am capable > of deciding for myself and for my children what content I wish to > receive. The government should not be involved in deciding what > kinds of content I may access. > >* Public hearings must be held to consider possible technological > means and policy alternatives to government content restrictions > in interactive media. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >CONTACT INFORMATION > >Here are the Commerce committee members. Please contact Sen. Larry >Pressler (the Committee Chairman) and Sen. Ernest Hollings at a minimum. >If you see your state listed below, contact your own senator as well. > >All addresses are Washington, D.C. 20510 > > P ST Name and Address Phone Fax > = == ======================== ============== ============== > R SD Pressler, Larry 1-202-224-5842 1-202-224-1259* > 243 RSOB [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > *Note this is the Commerce Committee's fax number > > D SC Hollings, Ernest F. 1-202-224-6121 1-202-224-4293 > 125 RSOB > > R OR Packwood, Robert 1-202-224-5244 1-202-228-3576 > 259 RSOB > > D HI Inouye, Daniel K. 1-202-224-3934 1-202-224-6747 > 722 HSOB > > R AK Stevens, Ted 1-202-224-3004 1-202-224-1044 > 522 HSOB > > D KY Ford, Wendell H. 1-202-224-4343 1-202-224-0046 > 173A RSOB [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > R AZ McCain, John 1-202-224-2235 1-202-228-2862 > 111 RSOB > > D NE Exon, J. J. 1-202-224-4224 1-202-224-5213 > 528 HSOB > > R MT Burns, Conrad R. 1-202-224-2644 1-202-224-8594 > 183 DSOB > > D WV Rockefeller, John D. 1-202-224-6472 1-202-224-1689 > 109 HSOB > > R WA Gorton, Slade 1-202-224-3441 1-202-224-9393 > 730 HSOB [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > D MA Kerry, John F. 1-202-224-2742 1-202-224-8525 > 421 RSOB > > R MS Lott, Trent 1-202-224-6253 1-202-224-2262 > 487 RSOB > > D LA Breaux, John B. 1-202-224-4623 1-202-224-2435 > 516 HSOB > > R TX Hutchison, Kay Bailey 1-202-224-5922 1-202-224-0776 > 703 HSOB [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > D NV Bryan, Richard H. 1-202-224-6244 1-202-224-1867 > 364 RSOB > > R ME Snowe, Olympia 1-202-224-5344 1-202-224-6853 > 176 RSOB > > D ND Dorgan, Byron L. 1-202-224-2551 1-202-224-1193 > 713 HSOB > > R MO Ashcroft, John 1-202-224-6154 1-202-224-7615 > 170 RSOB > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >CURRENT STATUS OF S. 314 > >The bill was introduced on February 1, 1995 by Senators Exon (D-NE) and >Gorton (R-WA). It is currently pending before the Senate Commerce >Committee (chaired by Senator Pressler (R-SD)). > >No committee action has been scheduled as of February 21, 1995. > >It may be included in the Senate telecommunications reform legislation, >expected to be introduced by mid-March. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >BACKGROUND > >S. 314 would expand current law restricting indecency and harassment on >telephone services to all telecommunications providers and expand >criminal liability to all content carried by all forms of >telecommunications networks. The bill would amend Section 223 of the >Communications Act (47 U.S.C. 223), which requires carriers to take >steps to prevent minors from gaining access to indecent audiotext and >criminalizes harassment accomplished over interstate telephone lines. > >If enacted, S. 314 would compel service providers to severely restrict >your online activities. Your access to email, discussion lists, usenet, >the world wide web, gopher, and ftp archives would be substantially >reduced or cut off entirely. The bill would also force providers to >closely monitor and pre-screen your electronic mail, and refuse to >transmit any message or other content which may be considered to be >indecent. > >This bill poses a significant threat to freedom of speech and the free >flow of information in cyberspace. The bill also raises fundamental >questions about the right of government to control content on >communications networks, as well as the locus of liability for content >carried in these new communications media. > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >WHERE CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BILL? (URL INCLUDED) > >The Voters Telecommunications Watch has set up a gopher page where >you can get a copy of the bill (including analyses by the American >Civil Liberties Union, the Center for Democracy and Technology, the >Electronic Messaging Association, and others). Here's the URL: > > WWW URL: gopher://gopher.panix.com/11/vtw/exon > Gopher command : gopher -p 1/vtw/exon gopher.panix.com > >If you have difficulty getting to this gopher page, or if you don't >have access to Mosaic/gopher, drop a note to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >WHERE WILL I LEARN ABOUT UPDATES TO THIS ALERT? > >We will post updates to this alert in three places: > > -On the account [EMAIL PROTECTED] (finger [EMAIL PROTECTED]) > -On Usenet (comp.org.eff.talk, comp.org.cpsr.talk, and alt.privacy) > -Through our announcements mailing list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To subscribe, simply send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the > following in the message body: > > subscribe vtw-announce Firstname Lastname > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >CURRENT LIST OF PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS > >At this time, the following organizations have signed onto this >campaign and are receiving the legislative feedback that VTW is compiling: > > American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Electronic Frontier Foundation-Austin (EFF-Austin), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > (Note that EFF-Austin is not a chapter of the DC-based EFF) > Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Hands Off! the Net petition drive, [EMAIL PROTECTED] > People for the American Way > Society for Electronic Access (SEA), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Voters Telecommunications Watch (VTW), [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Note that the Voters Telecommunications Watch does not speak for these >organizations. Any opinions contained herein are those of the author, >and not necessarily endorsed by participating organizations. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- >
