<nettime> Net freedom crisis in DC (yet again)

[valis <valis@execpc.com>]

==> This concerns yet another Internet censorship bill quietly snaking 
its way through Congress even as I peck, and what you can do about it. 
Personally, I think it's past-due time to dismantle Washington brick 
by overpriced brick, but I'm copping to Civics 101A on this one, 
just for the h**l of it. 
valis

The Electronic Frontier Foundation For immediate release: Mar. 11, 1998
IMMEDIATE ACTION ALERT, MAR. 12 DEADLINE: 
CONTACT KEY SENATORS TO SUPPORT SEN. BURNS'S 
ALTERNATIVE TO MCCAIN INTERNET CENSORSHIP BILL.
Please distribute widely to appropriate forums, no later than Mar. 12, 1998.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRO 
2. IMMEDIATE ACTION TO TAKE 
3. SAMPLE PHONE "SCRIPT" & SAMPLE FAX 
4. MORE ACTION TO TAKE
_________________________________________________________________

INTRO
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) has indicated that on Thursday, March 12 he 
will introduce legislative language which would require libraries and 
schools to simply certify that they have local Internet appropriate 
use policies (AUPs) in order to receive the e-rate telecommunications 
discounts (subsidies available under the Telecommunications Act of 
1996).
While we feel that no bill conditioning library/school subsidies on a 
notion of "appropriateness" of content is necessary, the Burns 
legislation would be a far more acceptable alternative to Sen. John 
McCain's (R-AZ) bill, S. 1619. This "Internet School Filtering Act" 
would require installation of filters and/or blocking software in 
order for any library or school to be eligible for the subsidies. 
Theocratic organizations like the Family Research Council are asking 
their supporters to lobby for the McCain bill and to oppose Sen. 
Burns's alternative.
YOUR immediate countering action is needed to preserve online free 
speech! The Senate needs to hear opposition to censorship or it will 
bow to the extremists' pressure to censor.
_________________________________________________________________

IMMEDIATE ACTION TO TAKE
Free speech supporters, especially supporters from states represented 
on the Commerce Committee, are asked to IMMEDIATELY contact these key 
Senators and ask them to support Sen. Burns's amendment at the Senate 
Commerce Committee markup meeting this Thursday, March 12 at 9:30am 
(ET). Urge the Senators to let local communities determine appropriate 
use policies, and that a federal mandate requiring filtering/blocking 
is not appropriate.
SENATE COMMERCE, SCIENCE & TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
ST PTY SENATOR PHONE FAX 
---------------------------------------- (Use 202 area code)---
AZ R John McCain, chair 224-2235 228-2862 
SC D Ernest Hollings, rnk. mem. 224-6121 224-4293 
AK R Ted Stevens 224-3004 224-2354 
HI D Daniel K. Inouye 224-3934 224-6747 
KS R Sam Brownback 224-6521 228-1265 
KY D Wendell H. Ford 224-4343 224-0046 
LA D John B. Breaux 224-4623 228-2577 
ME R Olympia J. Snowe 224-5344 224-1946 
MA D John F. Kerry 224-2742 224-8525 
MI R Spencer Abraham 224-4822 224-8834 
MS R Trent Lott 224-6253 224-2262 
MO R John Ashcroft 224-6154 228-0998 
MT R Conrad Burns 224-2644 224-8594 
NV D Richard H. Bryan 224-6244 224-1867 
ND D Byron L. Dorgan 224-2551 224-1193 
OR D Ron Wyden 224-5244 228-2717 
TN R Bill Frist 224-3344 228-1264 
TX R Kay Bailey Hutchison 224-5922 224-0776 
WA R Slade Gorton 224-3441 224-9393 
WV D John D. Rockefeller, IV 224-6472 224-7665
_________________________________________________________________

SAMPLE PHONE "SCRIPT" & SAMPLE FAX
If you would like to both call, and send a fax, this extra action 
would certainly help.
For best results try to put this in your own (short!) words, and be 
emotive without being hostile.
IF YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT (i.e., you live in the same state as the 
Senator you are contacting, or the same district as the Rep. you are 
contacting) make sure to say so. For example "I am a constituent, and 
I'm calling/writing because..."
IF YOU ARE A PARENT, mention this too: "As a constitutent, and a 
parent of two, I'm calling to urge the Senator..."
IF YOU REPRESENT A COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION, say so: "I'm Jane Person 
from Personal Technologies Inc. of Austin. I'm calling on behalf of 
Personal Technologies to ask the Senator to..." Business interests 
carry a lot of weight with many legislators, especially if they are in 
the legislator's home state/district. Legislators also generally heed 
organizational voices over individiual ones.
PHONE "SCRIPT"
You: [ring ring]
Legislative staffer: Hello, Senator Lastname's office.
You: I'm calling to urge the Senator to SUPPORT Sen. Burns's 
alternative to Internet censorship legislation, to be introduced 
Mar. 12 in the Commerce Committee. The Senator should REJECT online 
censorship bills, like S.1619 and S.1482. These bills are clear 
threats to the First Amendment. They won't protect children, just 
censor them, and adults. Filtering software can't block legal 
categories like "obscene", but it DOES block all kinds of political 
speech and news reportage. Parents and teachers, not the FCC or 
Congress, should decide what is and isn't OK for kids to read. This 
is a local and state, not federal, matter. And censorship does not 
belong in our public libraries. Thank you.
Staffer: OK, thanks. [click]
It's that easy.
You can optionally ask to speak to the legislator's technology 
staffer. You probably won't get to, but the message may have more 
weight if you succeed. The staffer who first answers the phone 
probably won't be the tech staffer.

SAMPLE FAX
Relevant Congressional fax numbers are in the contact list above. 
Please, if you have the time, write your own 1-3 paragraph letter in 
your own words, rather than send a copy of this sample letter (though 
even that is far better than taking no action!)
Dear Sen. Lastname:
I'm writing to urge you to support Sen. Burns's alternative to 
Internet censorship legislation, to be introduced Mar. 12 in the 
Commerce Committee. Please reject online censorship bills, like the 
McCain "Internet School Filtering Act", S.1619, and the Coats "CDA 
2" or "online harmful to minors" bill, S.1482. These bills are clear 
threats to the First Amendment. They won't protect children, just 
censor them, and adults as well.
Filtering software like that mandated by S.1619, is physically 
incapable of blocking legal categories of content such as "obscene" 
or "harmful to minors", but it DOES block all kinds of political 
speech and news reportage. The bill is unconstitutionally vague and 
over-broad. Based on some third party's notion of 
"inappropriateness", a term with no legal meaning, S.1619 calls for 
widespread censorship of material that is protected by the First 
Amendment, even for minors. Such a law would also violate adults' 
constitutional rights, especially as applied to libraries. As for 
S.1482, this bill is simply an attempt at re-passing the doomed 
"Communications Decency Act" (CDA). All of the faults of the 
original CDA are still present in this new bill, including 
vagueness, reduction of adults to reading only what is fit for 
children, and expansion of FCC powers to include Internet 
regulation, which has also already been rejected by the Supreme 
Court. Neither bill calls for the least restrictive means. As with 
the CDA, civil liberties groups are already preparing an immediate 
legal challege to this legislation should it pass.
Parents and teachers, not the FCC or Congress, should decide what is 
and isn't appropriate for our children to read, at home, in the 
library and in the classroom. This is a local and state, not 
federal, matter. 
Sincerely, 
My Name Here 
My Address Here
(Address is especially important if you want your letter to be taken 
as a letter from an actual constituent.)
For brief tips on writing letters to Congress, see: 
<http://www.vote-smart.org/contact/contact.html>http://www.vote-smart.org/c
ontact/contact.html 
The most important tip is to BE POLITE AND BRIEF. Swearing will NOT 
help.
_________________________________________________________________

MORE ACTION TO TAKE
After calling/faxing members of the Senate Commerce Committee, please 
contact your own Senators and urge them to oppose the McCain & Coats 
Internet censorship bills, and to support pro-freedom alternatives.
You may also wish to follow up your calls and faxes with e-mail.
If you are unsure who your legislators are or how to contact them, see 
the EFF Congress Contact Factsheet at: 
<http://www.eff.org/congress.html>http://www.eff.org/congress.html
For more information about the McCain Internet censorship bill and 
why it should be opposed, and the Burns amendment, including the full 
text of this legislation, see the Blue Ribbon Campaign for Online 
Free Speech page at: 
<http://www.eff.org/blueribbon.html>http://www.eff.org/blueribbon.html


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