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The Communications Decency Act: Steven Levy Offers an Overview.

Two weeks ago Congress passed a sweeping new telecommunications bill, the biggest overhaul of telecommunications law in 62 years. The bill contains a provision (the Communications Decency Act) which makes obscenity on the internet illegal, punishable by fines of up to $100,000 and prison sentences to "knowingly" transmit to minors material deemed "indecent" on on-line services. Indecency is defined as any communication that "in context, depicts or describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs." Terry Gross will be talking to several individuals with differing points of view. First, Newsweek's Steven Levy gives an overview.

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Other segments from the episode on February 15, 1996

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, February 15, 1996: Interview with Steven Levy; Interview with Bruce Taylor; Interview with Jerry Berman; Interview with Nigel Spicer.
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16:39

The Communications Decency Act: Critics Overstate the Law's Impact on Adults.

Bruce Taylor, President and Chief Counsel of the National Law Center for Children and Families. His organization is a resource and education center which assists law enforcement and prosecutors in the enforcement of obscenity and child exploitation laws. He helped draft the legislation in the Communications Decency Act. (The National Law Center Children and Families is located in Fairfax, VA, (703) 691-4626.)

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19:11

The Communications Decency Act: Opponents are Looking Into Challenging the New Law.

Jerry Berman is Executive Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Its mission is to develop public policies that advance democratic values and constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications technologies. His group has joined a coalition of on line services, telecommunications companies, librarians, and others in filing a federal suit seeking less restrictive means to protect minors on the internet. (The Center for Democracy and Technology is located in Washington, D.C. (202) 637-9800.)

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