Ted Stevens is Advocating Internet Censorship > [View All]

[Stephanie]

I predict even Reds will rail at this censorship and invasion of privacy.



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http://news.com.com/Senator+suggests+targeting+Net+indecency/2100-1028_3-5618332.html


Senator suggests targeting Net 'indecency'
Published: March 15, 2005, 11:51 AM PST
By Declan McCullagh
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

The U.S. Congress may be preparing for another round in the Internet "decency" wars.

Sen. Ted Stevens, the influential chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, has indicated that Internet decency regulations could be inserted into legislation that was originally intended to boost fines for off-color radio and TV broadcasts.

"We ought to find some way to say, 'Here is a block of channels--whether it's delivered by broadband, by VoIP, by whatever it is--to a home that is clear of the stuff you don't want your children to see,'" the Alaska Republican told reporters Friday, according to an audio recording.

Stevens didn't describe how broadband or Internet telephony decency regulation would work, and a spokesman did not respond to a request for comment. Elsewhere in his remarks, the senator said indecency rules should be extended to cable and satellite, and "we're looking to create tiers, or create a system like the movie business...to let us develop a ratings system."

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"It looks like Stevens is talking about some sort of ratings system for the Internet," said Marv Johnson, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union. "But you really can't have the FCC or the federal government be the taste police for the American citizens. It's just not going to work."

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