March 22, 1995

Honorable James Exon
United States Senate
SH-528
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Exon:

     We are writing to you on behalf of the leading computing 
societies in the United States about the proposed Communication 
Decency Act.  The memberships of our societies include scientists, 
engineers, and computing practitioners from every university, 
industrial research institution, government laboratory, and major 
computer firm in the United States.

     We share your concern about the inappropriate and improper 
use of computer networks to send indecent material.  However, we 
are deeply worried about the potential damage to our nation's 
communications infrastructure that seems likely to result from the 
Communication Decency Act as presently drafted.  In particular, 
this legislation would impose unreasonable technical and financial 
burdens on the increasing number of institutions, large and small, 
that rely on the Internet for communication.  We believe that 
these burdens will significantly harm the technological and 
communications opportunities now emerging from the Internet.

     The growth of computer networks in the past two decades has 
been of enormous benefit to the entire country.  It is in the 
national interest to continue encouragement of the technical 
innovation, economic growth, and world scientific leadership that 
our nation's computer networks have provided.

     To allow a thorough exploration of the issues, we urge you 
to hold comprehensive hearings on the implications of the 
Communication Decency Act.  We would be pleased to serve as a 
resource for you in this process, by providing analysis, 
expertise, and witnesses.

     Many thanks for your consideration of our comments.  We look 
forward to working with you.


Sincerely,

Barbara J. Grosz, President 
American Association for Artificial Intelligence 
Menlo Park, CA

Stuart H. Zweben, President 
Association for Computing Machinery 
New York, NY

Eric Roberts, President 
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility 
Palo Alto, CA

Ronald Hoelzeman, President 
IEEE Computer Society 
Washington, DC

Margaret H. Wright, President 
Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics 
Philadelphia, PA