Letter to SAGE Members

[carolyn (Carolyn Carr)]

Dear SAGE Members,

The SAGE Board of Directors wishes to spur you into reading, researching and
considering the "Gorton - Exon Amendment" to the Communications Decency Act
of 1995. We are concerned that there may be some impact upon us as system
administrators. This legislation now before the US Congress touches upon many
aspects of international telecommunications and the Internet, making it
noteworthy to all our members, both inside and outside the bounds of the
United States.

Below are some questions whose answers may be affected by this legislation,
and bear consideration. 

Are we liable:

- if we allow unrestricted USENET feeds into our site?
- if we restrict newsgroups based on content, but cross-posting or mis-posting
   brings undesired data into our facilities?     
- for the contents of posting, email or other data made available by the users
  of our systems?     
- for the contents of email that our users receive, either solicited or not?
- for the actions, postings, etc. of users from home systems, both those
  provided by work, and those individually owned but gaining Internet access
  through our sites?     
- for the content of email, postings, etc. that route through our site
  (anonymous FTP directories that are writable, source-routed email, etc)?     
- if we do not apply known security techniques and unauthorized users (aka
  crackers) use our systems to make undesired information available on the
  Internet?     
- if we do apply some known security techniques and tools, but not all of
  them? (Are we held to higher standards based upon our level of expertise
  and knowledge?)     
- if our methods are not as effective as others, including those of law
  enforcement? What policing methods may or must be applied? What methods
  are outside the bounds of our responsibility/authority?

We would like to encourage you to read the proposed legislation and commentary
available on the Internet and elsewhere. Some places on the Internet you can
begin with are:

	http://www.efh.org/exon.html
	http://www.pathfinder.com/pathfinder/politics/netpol/index.html

You can also check the Yahoo search engine at http://yahoo.com/ with the
keyword Exon.

You can get information about contacting your representatives, if you so desire,
with this URL and gopher server:

	http://thomas.loc.gov/
	http://www.house.gov
	http://policy.net/capweb/Senate/Senate.html
	gopher://ftp.senate.gov/

If you wish to express your view and are not a US citizen or resident,
you may contact the Hon. Al Gore, Vice-President.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  
The Gorton-Exon Amendment
  
TITLE IV--OBSCENE, HARRASSING, AND WRONGFUL UTILIZATION OF
TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES 
  
SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.
  
This title may be cited as the `Communications Decency Act of 1995'.
SEC. 402. OBSCENE OR HARASSING USE OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS FACILITIES
UNDER THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 1934.
  
(a) Offenses: Section 223 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended--
  
(1) in subsection (a)(1)--
  
(A) by striking out `telephone' in the matter above subparagraph (A)
and inserting `telecommunications device';
  
(B) by striking out subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
  
`(A) knowingly--
  
`(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and
  
`(ii) initiates the transmission of, any comment, request, suggestion,
proposal, image, or other communication which is obscene, lewd,
lascivious, filthy, or indecent;';
  
(C) by striking out subparagraph (B) and inserting the following:
  
`(B) makes a telephone call or utilizes a telecommunications device,
whether or not conversation or communications ensues, without
disclosing his identity and with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or
harass any person at the called number or who receives the
communication;' and
  
(D) by striking out subparagraph (D) and inserting the following:
  
`(D) makes repeated telephone calls or repeatedly initiates
communication with a telecommunications device, during which
conversation or communication ensues, solely to harass any person at
the called number or who receives the communication; or';
  
(2) in subsection (a)(2), by striking `telephone' and inserting
`telecommunications' and by striking `section' and inserting
`subsection';
  
(3) in subsection (b)(1)-- (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and
inserting the following:
  
`(A) within the United States, by means of a telecommunications
device--
  
`(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and
  
`(ii) purposefully makes available, any obscene communication for
commercial purposes to any person, regardless of whether the maker of
such communication placed the call or initiated the communication; or';
and
  
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking `telephone facility' and inserting
`telecommunications facility'; and
  
(4) in subsection (b)(2)--
  
(A) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the following:
  
`(A) within the United States, by means of telephone or
telecommunications device,
  
`(i) makes, creates, or solicits, and `(ii) purposefully makes
available (directly or by recording device), any indecent communication
for commercial purposes which is available to any person under 18 years
of age or to any other person without that person's consent, regardless
of whether the maker of such communication placed the call; or'; and
  
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking `telephone facility' and inserting
in lieu thereof `telecommunications facility'.
  
(b) Penalties: Section 223 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended--
  
(1) by striking out `$50,000' each place it appears and inserting
`$100,000'; and
  
(2) by striking `six months' each place it appears and inserting `2
years'.
  
(c) Prohibition on Provision of Access: Section 223(c)(1) (47 U.S.C.
223(c)(1)) is amended by striking `telephone' and inserting
`telecommunications device'.
  
(d) Additional Defenses: Section 223 (47 U.S.C. 223) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
  
`(d) Additional Defenses; Restrictions on Access; Judicial Remedies
Respecting Restrictions:
  
`(1) No person shall be held to have violated this section with respect
to any action by that person or a system under his control that is
limited solely to the provision of access, including transmission,
downloading, intermediate storage, navigational tools, and related
capabilities not involving the creation or alteration of the content of
the communications, for another person's communications to or from a
service, facility, system, or network not under that person's control.
  
`(2) It is a defense to prosecution under subsections (a)(2),
(b)(1)(B), and (b)(2)(B) that a defendant lacked editorial control over
the communication specified in this section.
  
`(3)  It is a defense to prosecution under subsections (a)(2),
(b)(1)(B), and (b)(2)(B) that a defendant has taken good faith,
reasonable steps, as appropriate--
  
`(A) to provide users with the means to restrict access to
communications described in this section;
  
`(B) provide users with warnings concerning the potential for access to
such communications;
  
`(C) to respond to complaints from those who are subjected to such
communications;
  
`(D) to provide mechanisms to enforce a provider's terms of service
governing such communications; or
  
`(E) to implement such other measures as the Commission may prescribe
to carry out the purposes of this paragraph.  Nothing in this section
in and of itself shall be construed to treat enhanced information
services as common carriage.
  
`(4) In addition to other defenses authorized under this section, it
shall be a defense to prosecution under subsection (b) that a defendant
is not engaged in a commercial activity that has as a predominant
purpose an activity specified in that subsection.
  
`(5) No cause of action may be brought in any court or administrative
agency against any person on account of any action which the person has
taken in good faith to implement a defense authorized under this
section or otherwise to restrict or prevent the transmission of, or
access to, a communication specified in this section.  The preceding
sentence shall not apply where the good faith defenses under subsection
(c)(2) apply.
  
`(6)  No State or local government may impose any liability in
connection with a violation described in subsection (a)(2), (b)(1)(B),
(b)(2)(B) that is  inconsistent with the treatment of those violations
under this section provided, however, that nothing herein shall
preclude any State or local government from  enacting  and enforcing
complementary oversight, liability, and regulatory systems, procedures,
and requirements, so long as such systems, procedures, and requirements
govern only intrastate services and do not result in the imposition of
inconsistent obligations on the provision of interstate services.
  
`(e) Knowingly Defined: For purposes of subsections (a) and (b), the
term `knowingly' means an intentional act with actual knowledge
of the specific content of the communication specified in this
section to another person.'