BEC.SHAPIN@USC-ECL.ARPA (Ted Shapin) (11/14/85)
BBSLAW02.MSG
07/24/85
by Chip Berlet,
Secretary, National Lawyers Guild Civil Liberties Committee
Chicago, IL
GOOD NEWS & MORE NEWS
Since it will be important to celebrate our victories no
matter how small, I am happy to announce that we have a small one
to celebrate. John Podesta, the Congressional aide who is
writing the "Telecommunication Privacy" legislation for Senator
Patrick Leahy, has agreed that BBS's constitute a special factor
for the legislation. Leahy and Podesta are willing to consider
writing language that attempts to takes the unique needs of BBS's
into consideration. This is a foot in the door for us.
To help them understand the issues, Podesta has requested
that various BBS's conduct a debate on the issues, and then send
him a printed output of the running comments. He needs this
material sometime in late August or early September.
PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN
The debate on California's WELL/Legal conference BBS is
already underway, and it should continue.
Paul Bernstein of the National Association of Bulletin Board
System Operators (NABBSO) in Chicago will be coordinating the
SYSOP response, and providing information on how to download
current information and all future BBSLAW messages. If you are
a SYSOP, please write him a letter with your BBS name and phone
number, and he will send you the information on dowloading.
NABBSO, c/o Paul Bernstein, Attorney at Law, #509A 600 N. McClurg
Court, Chicago, IL 60611.
We hope to see discussion on Source, Compuserve, Delphi,
etc. regarding the legislation. Watch local BBS's for the
BBSLAWxx.MSG's like this one.
STATUS OF FEDERAL LEGISLATION
There has been one Congressional oversight hearing on
the Federal BBS/Child pornography Bill, and the legislation was
introduced the week of June 17th. The Telecommunications Privacy
Bill is in draft form, and is expected to be introduced in the
next three months. The BBS laws in California have been
introduced, and the response to them will affect the situation in
Congress.
BBS/CHILD POROGRAPHY BILL
This Bill follows a similar law regulating broadcast of
sexually explicit material on cable television. The BBS Bill was
introduced by Senator Trible (R-VA). One Star Trek "Trekkie" has
suggested we title our opposition "The Trouble With Trible's",
but I have doubts the general population would get the joke.
According to my contacts in Washington, D.C., Trible is a
very conservative Republican with support from the direction of
the New Right/Moral Majority crowd. He is unlikely to be swayed
by either Constitutional or First Amendment arguments. It makes
more sense to target other members of the Committee for a letter
writing campaign.
The Trible Bill is prompted by concern over child
pornography and child molestation. It appears that some rather
foul individuals have set up a BBS where child molesters and
pedophiles discuss in explicit detail sexual experiences with
small children. The Senator's response to this is to write
legislation that could affect all BBS systems. We have to figure
out how to draw the distinctions between the issues here.
Needless to say, we have an uphill battle. In defending BBS
Freedom, we will be accused of defending child molestation. Yech!
The Trible Bill is officially the "Computer Porography and
Child Exploitation Prevention Act" S. 1305. "To establish
criminal penalties for the transmission by computer of obscene
matter, or by computer or by other means, of matter pertaining
to the sexual exploitation of children." It has been referred
to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.
On the plus side, the law as presently worded, clearly
focuses on the perpetrator. While the Senator apparently wanted
to directly regulate BBS's that carried child pornography, the Justice
Department warned that such action might be UnConstitutional.
This is good news for us, since it means the Justice Department
recognizes at least some Constitutional issues relating to BBS's.
We need to read the language of the Bill to make sure it does not
hurt BBS's or SYSOPS, and be sure that attempts to broaden the
scope of the legislation fail. I will download the text of that
Bill shortly.
MYSTERY LEGISLATION?
There are also rumors that some federal legislation might be
introduced to address the problem of the KKK/Aryan Nations BBS
Network, and the general problem of illegal material on BBS's.
We have an easier time here in arguing that any legislation
should be aimed at criminal activity discussed on the BBS, not at
all BBS's in general. Still, this Bill could be the worst of them
all, if it is introduced. One rumor from several sources says
that Sen. Jeremiah Denton has discussed just such legislation.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS PRIVACY ACT
The Telecommunications Privacy Bill is in draft form, and
will be introduced within the next three months. Senator Patrick
Leahy (D-VT) is the principal sponsor. In the near future a copy
of the new draft text of the Bill will be made available to us
for circulation. We should thank Leahy for soliciting our
comments and encourage sensitivity to the needs of BBS's in the
legislation.
As of July 24, Senator Leahy and Representative Kastenmeier
are working on preparing a bill to be introduced jointly in the
House and Senate, probably in late August or September. They
are both willing to listen to our side of things.
Several other computer/telecommunication Bills are expected
to be introduced in the current session.
More to follow.
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