EFF "Censorship - Internet Censorship Legislation & Regulation, 1998" Archive

Files in this Archive

HTML/19980911_ifea_testimony.html

statement for the record at House hearing on Net censorship bills, by members of Internet Free Expression Alliance (including EFF). Statement opposes both McCain and Coats bills on constitutional grounds. (Sep. 11, 1998; HTML version.)

19980911_ifea.testimony

statement for the record at House hearing on Net censorship bills, by members of Internet Free Expression Alliance (including EFF). Statement opposes both McCain and Coats bills on constitutional grounds. (Sep. 11, 1998; ASCII text version.)

HTML/19980721_eff_statement.html

EFF statement on very sneaky Senate passage of both McCain and Coats Internet censorship bills (July 21, 1998) (HTML version)

19980721_eff.statement

EFF statement on very sneaky Senate passage of both McCain and Coats Internet censorship bills (July 21, 1998) (plain text version)

19980312_eff.statement

brief statement by EFF president Barry Steinhardt on the passage of both McCain and Coats Internet censorship bills by the Senate Commerce Committee. (Mar. 12, 1998)

s1619_19980312_burns.amendment

amendment by Sen. Conrad Burns to McCain's S.1619 "Internet School Filtering Act". The amendment, to be introduced in the Commerce Committee on Mar. 12, 1998, would strip out McCain's censorship provisions, and replace them simply with a requirement that schools and libraries getting universal service subsidies certify that they have "a policy" to limit minor's access to online "inappropriate" material, while leaving the decisions about what constitutes "inappropriate", and what action to take in implementing or adopting a policy, up to the library or school.

19980310_freeh_allen_sen_cjs_app.testimony

FBI Dir., Louis Freeh, and president of Center for Missing & Exploited Children, Ernest Allen, testifying before the Commerce, Justice and State Dept. Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, at a hearing on FBI efforts to catch child pornographers and molestors who use the Internet. Freeh reveals that FBI agents are paid to pretend to be 13-year-old girls in online chat rooms, and attacks online anonymity and privacy, saying that while the FBI should be able to hide its agents' identities while they pretend to be naughty pubescents, the rest of the world should be identifiable to law enforcement agents automatically. Freeh suggests mandating (or possibly allowing for voluntary implementation of) Internet Service Providers call-tracking all of their users, including with Caller-ID and permanent logging, so that police can immediately ID a suspect. Nevermind warrants or anything like due process. Yet another attempt by the FBI to wrangle new surveillance powers over the new medium. (Mar. 10, 1998)

19980209_eff_mccain.letter

EFF letter opposing "Internet School Filtering Act" legislation introduced by Sen. John McCain. (Feb. 8, 1998)

hr3177_1998_franks.bill

Rep. Bob Franks's "Safe Schools Internet Act", a House version of the McCain Internet censorship legislation in the Senate. Would mandate that federally funded libraries (and schools) use filtering software to censor Internet access, supposedly to "protect children from indencency".

s1482_1998_coats.bill

Sen. Dan Coats's "CDA 2" Internet censorship bill, which would require web site operators to find some way to keep minors from viewing "harmful" web pages. Original version.

s1482_hr3783_1998.bill

Sen. Dan Coat's "Child Online Protection Act" (COPA, known colloquially as "CDA 2"), as passed (S. 1482 in the Senate, because H.R. 3783 in the House).

s1482_hr3783_19981005.report

Complete House report on "Child Online Protection Act" (COPA, known colloquially as "CDA 2"). Oct. 5, 1998.

s1619_1998_mccain.bill

Sen. John McCain's "Internet School Filtering Act". Senate version of House "Safe Schools Internet Act". Would mandate that federally funded libraries (and schools) use filtering software to censor Internet access, supposedly to "protect children from indencency".

Subdirectories in This Archive

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Foreign_and_local/

State, regional, local and non-US national 1998 Internet censorship & free speech legislative info

Loudoun_library/

Directory of info on the Mainstream Loudoun coalition's lawsuit to end censorship via Internet content filtering software in in the Loudoun Co., VA, public library. This case may have a major effect on the course of, and effects of (if passed) the McCain school & library filtering bill, S.1619.

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