[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 36 (Wednesday, March 19, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FREE SPEECH ON THE INTERNET

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JERROLD NADLER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 19, 1997

  Mr. NADLER.  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the efforts of 
citizens everywhere to protect free speech on the Internet.
  Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments to determine the 
constitutionality of the Communications Decency Act [CDA], which 
criminalizes certain speech on the Internet.
  It is because of the hard work and dedication to free speech by 
netizens everywhere that this issue has gained the attention of the 
public, and now, our Nation's highest court.
  I have maintained from the very beginning that the CDA is 
unconstitutional, and I eagerly await the Supreme Court's decision on 
this case.
  I was one of the few Members of this body to vote against the 
Telecommunications Act, in large part, due to the CDA provision that 
imposes unacceptable limits on free speech.
  While the stated intent of this provision is to limit minors' access 
to indecent material, in fact, its effect will be much farther 
reaching. This so-called decency language will dangerously constrain 
electronic free speech. I still believe that it is the cyberspace 
equivalent to book burning.
  When this bill first became law, I turned my web page black to 
protest this dangerous assault on free speech. I have been working 
actively to overturn the CDA ever since. I received thousands of e-mail 
messages from around the world from people concerned with the threat to 
free speech imposed by the CDA. I pledged to join with concerned 
citizens all across the country to fight the CDA in Congress, in the 
courts, and in the chat rooms and online forums of the Internet itself. 
And we have. We won in Philadelphia, we won in New York, and we are now 
poised to win in the Supreme Court of the United States. We promised 
not to give up the fight, and to continue our efforts to keep the 
Internet free, and we have done just that.
  Now this case is finally before the Supreme Court. Soon we will learn 
of the outcome of our efforts. Have we successfully challenged this 
unjust act? Will the Supreme Court uphold the lower court's ruling 
which struck down the CDA? Will the Justices join the choir of voices 
who have declared this bill an indecent assault on American liberty? I 
believe they will.
  I believe they will recognize what the lower courts have already 
determined, that ``as the most participatory form of mass speech yet 
developed, the Internet deserves the highest protection from 
governmental intrusion,'' that the CDA is unconstitutional, and that it 
dangerously constrains electronic free speech.
  I applaud everyone who has taken action to support the first 
amendment, and who has spoken out against this bill to ensure that 
future generations are able to enjoy the same rights and liberties on 
the Internet that we have enjoyed in other arenas of expression for the 
past two centuries.

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