Section 507 of the telecom bill amends Section 1462 of Title 18 of the U.S. Code (Chapter 71) in ways which may make sending the following over the Internet illegal: - any text, graphic, or sound that is lewd, lascivious, or filthy - any information telling about how to obtain or make abortions and drugs, or obtaining or making anything that is for indecent or immoral use.
Politicians differ in their interpretation of the amended Section 1462. Rep. Pat Schroeder's office says that the changes "will criminalize a wide array of public health information relating to abortion, including discussion of RU-486 on the Internet." (Schroeder plans to bring a motion to the floor to remove the abortion language from the telecom bill on February 26. [1998 update: Schroeder did so, but the motion did not pass. The DoJ admitted the unconstitutionality of this provision in a lawsuit against it in 1996.]) Sam Stratman from Rep. Hyde's office insists that courts have already invalidated subsection (c) of Section 1462 (although it remains on the books), so the extension of 1462 to include "interactive computer services" would have no bearing on abortion-related materials. This view is of course nonsense in one way, namely from the point of view of Congressional intent - the sponsors of the CDA very explicitly included the abortion ban to please arch-conservative interests.
As for the legal facts, according to Steven Lieberman from the NY State Bar, the Supreme Court in Bigelow v. Virginia (1975) invalidated the prohibitions in subsection (c) against the dissemination of information about abortion. (This was a case concerning the availability of out-of-state abortion materials in the state of Virginia.) In Roe v. Wade the Supreme Court invalidated the prohibitions against any "drug, medicine, article, or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion." Thus, summarized Lieberman, "A prosecution under subsection (c) of Section 1462 would be doomed from the outset."
So, it appears that both Schroeder and Hyde are correct. From a strictly formal standpoint, the prohibitions on abortion information are indeed in place. Technically, the telecom bill does criminalize abortion discussion. However, it is unlikely that any U.S. court would enforce the amended Section 1462, as it is legally toothless (though it has not yet explicitly been ruled unconstitutional). [1998 - the FBI's 1996 admission in court constitutes a District-level precedent, though no higher.]
Here is Section 1462 as Amended (telecom bill changes are in "<" and ">"):
Section 1462. Importation or transportation of obscene matters. Whoever brings into the United States, or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or knowingly uses any express company or other common carrier <or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)>, for carriage in interstate or foreign commerce -
(a) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy book, pamphlet, picture, motion-picture film, paper, letter, writing, print, or other matter of indecent character; or
(b) any obscene, lewd, lascivious, or filthy phonograph recording, electrical transcription, or other article or thing capable of producing sound; or
(c) any drug, medicine, article, or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion, or for any indecent or immoral use; or any written or printed card, letter, circular, book, pamphlet, advertisement, or notice of any kind giving information, directly or indirectly, where, how, or of whom, or by what means any of such mentioned articles, matters, or things may be obtained or made; or Whoever knowlingly takes <or receives>, from such express company or other common carrier <or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)> any matter or thing the carriage <or importation> of which is herein made unlawful -
Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both, for the first such offense and shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both, for each such offense thereafter.
Here is the text which adds the interactive computer service part in the Telecom Bill:
Sec. 507. CLARIFICATION OF CURRENT LAWS REGARDING COMMUNICATION OF OBSCENE MATERIALS THROUGH THE USE OF COMPUTERS.
(a) Importation or Transportation. --Section 1462 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in the first undesignated paragraph, by inserting "or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)" after "carrier"; and
(2) in the second undesignated paragraph--
(A) by inserting "or receives" after "takes";
(B) by inserting "or interactive computer service (as defined in section 230(e)(2) of the Communications Act of 1934)" after "common carrier"; and
(C) by inserting "or importation" after "carriage".
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