[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 80 (Tuesday, June 10, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1161-E1162]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




STATEMENTS BY ALYSSA LEACH AND SAM HERR, GAILER SCHOOL, MIDDLEBURY, VT, 
           REGARDING THE INTERNET VERSUS THE FIRST AMENDMENT

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                          HON. BERNARD SANDERS

                               of vermont

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 1997

  Mr. SANDERS. Mr. Speaker, for the benefit of my colleagues I would 
like to have printed in the Record this statement by high school 
students from Gailer School in VT, who were speaking at my recent town 
meeting on issues facing young people.

       Ms. Leach: Congressman Sanders, the United States 
     government wants to regulate the information available on the 
     Internet via the U.S. Communications Decency Act and Exxon-
     Garten Communications Decency legislation.
       We as adult citizens in the United States believe that this 
     legislation is violating our First Amendment rights to the 
     freedom of expression.
       The First Amendment was created by American's founders to 
     protect the individual's rights, two of these rights being 
     freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The CDA is going 
     to be limiting these rights and violating the First 
     Amendment. Is this right? No. The CDA calls for a $100,000 
     fine and up to two years in jail for transmitting indecent 
     material over the computer networks.
       What is indecent? What is indecent to some may not be some 
     to others. To others it is self-expression which is protected 
     by the First Amendment. Expressing yourself is an American 
     right. It may come in the form of unconventional speech down 
     to pornography, but it is all self-expression.
       Americans should be able to speak freely over the Internet 
     about controversial issues such as abortion or sex without 
     fear of prosecution. We are not a free people if we cannot 
     speak freely and share our opinions. As for children, they 
     are under their parents' responsibility for guidance on the 
     Internet. Adult expression should not be prohibited for the 
     protection of children. The government does not parent 
     children, parents parent children.
       So I say to you, please protect our rights. The Internet is 
     a wonderful way to express and share our opinion with the 
     world. Don't make us have to be afraid of prosecution if we 
     have unconventional, maybe indecent opinions which we wish to 
     express. If the CDA is passed we will start losing our First 
     Amendment rights. Keep us a free people, free to express 
     ourselves.
       Mr. Herr. There are also important technological concerns. 
     Forty percent of the websites on the Internet are located on 
     the hard drives of computers that are physically located 
     outside of any area in which the United States can be said to 
     have jurisdiction and this number is growing. How would the 
     Communications Decency Act prevent children within the United 
     States from accessing information and pictures contained 
     within these sites? In addition, it would be entirely 
     possible for United States citizens to rent space on one of 
     these foreign sites and post any information or pictures that 
     he or she wanted to.
       The Communications Decency Act makes it illegal for an 
     Internet service provider such as America Online or 
     Togethernet to provide material that is patently offensive to 
     minors. It is possible for these organizations not directly 
     to provide such information to minors by not carrying it on 
     the Internet service which they control. However, there are 
     many public Internet servers that are available for use by 
     anyone attached to the Internet who state it could not be 
     regulated by the Communications Decency Act. Therefore, any 
     Internet service provider whose users could access any of 
     these servers would be open to prosecution under the 
     Communications Decency Act.
       As you can see, Representative Sanders, it is clearly 
     unfair to any Internet service provider and could in fact act 
     to shut down the Internet within the United States whereby 
     denying U.S. citizens access to a valuable tool.
       Lastly, because of the way Internet protocols are written 
     there is no way of confirming the age of persons accessing a 
     website or a new server. The fear of prosecution has caused 
     many Internet sites to provide material solely for adult 
     audiences because they have been technically unable to 
     prevent minors from accessing their sites. The Electronic ID 
     is the best quick fix for this problem as minors can get 
     these IDs and there

[[Page E1162]]

     are so many competing standards that adults cannot access 
     some sites.
       We do not object to your controlling what comes through the 
     Internet to your own computer and what your child sees. There 
     are softwares available for just for that purpose. It's low 
     cost and schools can obtain that as well.
       Ms. Leach: Also monitoring what your children are seeing on 
     the Internet is very important. Relating to what the kids are 
     doing on the Internet is important so you know what they are 
     looking at. It is the parents' responsibility just as it is 
     with television to watch what your kid are looking at and 
     whether you want them to see or not to see. It is illegal to 
     do things like yell fire when it is inappropriate but that is 
     a totally different subject, that is a different kind of 
     expression.
       Mr. Herr: I would argue that it is their right to yell 
     fire, but they have to face the consequences of their actions 
     which would be prosecution for manslaughter in that case. It 
     is a valid idea from that person's point of view and whoever 
     did the acts that were portrayed on that Internet site would 
     be liable to prosecution under the current laws.

     

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