J. Exon

Mr. EXON

Mr. EXON. I thank my friend from South Dakota. Mrs. HUTCHISON addressed the Chair.

Mr. EXON

Mr. EXON. So the Senator from South Dakota cannot confirm my suspicion that the grand compromise being offered by the Dole amendment would not likely have taken place had we not acted in the committee.

Mr. EXON. No, I am not opposed to something being worked out privately at all, except that I am opposed to the concept that nothing privately is worked out until the last minute when changes are made, which leads me to my next question. It seems to me that what we are seeing is that Viacom and Time Warner, and all those other public-minded folks, are now at the last minute offering to have private negotiations with some of the smaller cable operators that they were not willing to do previously. Let me phrase the question this way: Why would it not be wise to leave the amendment as it came out of committee in place and not adopt the Dole amendment? Am I to understand that unless we adopt the Dole amendment under the pressure and under the unsavory acts that I think have taken place in the last few days, that unless we can accept the Dole amendment that negotiations will break down?

Mr. EXON

Mr. EXON. With that, if the Senator from Vermont is ready to yield back, I am ready to yield back our time.

Mr. EXON. I wish to yield whatever additional time the Senator from Indiana requires.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I yield 10 minutes to the Senator from Indiana.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I wish to thank my fine colleague from Indiana for all the help he has been and for a lot of work we have put in on this. I would be glad to yield to him for whatever time he wants to begin debate or, if he wishes me to proceed, I will do so at this time. Mr. President, I yield myself 10 minutes. Mr. President, I would like to start out this debate by reading a prayer that was offered by the Chaplain of the Senate on Monday, June 12, that I hope will guide us once again. It was so much on point to what this Senator and the Senator from Indiana and others are attempting to do that I think it is worthy of repetition: Almighty God, Lord of all life, we praise You for the advancements in computerized communications that we enjoy in our time. Sadly, however, there are those who are littering this information superhighway with obscene, indecent, and destructive pornography. Virtual but virtueless reality is projected in the most twisted, sick misuse of sexuality. Violent people with sexual pathology are able to stalk and harass the innocent. Cyber solicitation of teenagers reveals the dark side of online victimization. Lord, we are profoundly concerned about the impact of this on our children. We have learned from careful study how children can become addicted to pornography at an early age. Their understanding and appreciation of Your gift of sexuality can be denigrated and eventually debilitated. Pornography disallowed in print and the mail is now readily available to young children who learn how to use the computer. Oh God, help us care for our children. Give us wisdom to create regulations that will protect the innocent. In times past, You have used the Senate to deal with problems of air and water pollution, and the misuse of our natural resources. Lord, give us courage to balance our reverence for freedom of speech with responsibility for what is said and depicted. Now, guide the Senators when they consider ways of controlling the pollution of computer communications and how to preserve one of our greatest resources: The minds of our children and the future and moral strength of our Nation. Amen. Mr. President, that is the end of the quote of the Chaplain of the Senate that I referenced earlier. If in any American neighborhood an individual were distributing pornographic photos, cartoons, videos, and stories to children, or if someone were posting lewd photographs on lampposts and telephone poles for all to see, or if children were welcome to enter and browse adult book stores and triple X rated video arcades, there would be a public outrage. I suspect and I hope that most people, under those circumstances, would immediately call the police to arrest and charge any person responsible for such offenses. I regret to report that these very offenses are occurring everyday in America's electronic neighborhood. It is not right to permit this type of activity in your neighborhoods and it is not right to ignore such activities via a child's computer. Section 402 of the Communications Decency Act, that I have just offered on behalf of myself and my colleague from Indiana, Senator Coats, a version of that, which has been slightly amended, was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee and added to S. 652, the Telecommunications Competition and Deregulation Act that stands for a simple proposition; that is, the laws which already apply to obscene, indecent, and harassing telephone use and the use of the mails should also apply to computer communications. That is the heart and soul of our amendment. Not only are children being exposed to the most perverted pornography and inappropriate communications, but adults are also being electronically stalked and harassed. I have had the opportunity to share with several Members of the Senate, on [[Page S8330]] both sides of the aisle, what I refer to as the ``blue book.'' When I have shown this to Members on both sides of the aisle, there has been shock registered, obviously, on the faces of my colleagues, shock because few understand what is going on today with regard to the pollution of the Internet. I cannot and would not show these pictures to the Senate. I would not want our cameras to pick them up. But I think they probably are best described by some other material that has come to my attention by people who are strongly supporting our proposition. It says: Warning. Do not open until further instructions. Offensive material enclosed. Keep out of reach of children. I hope that all of my colleagues, if they are interested, will come by my desk and take a look at this disgusting material, pictures of which were copied off the free Internet only last week, to give you an idea of the depravity on our children, possibly our society, that is being practiced on the Internet today. This is what the Coats-Exon amendment is trying to correct. Mr. President, it is no exaggeration to say that the most disgusting, repulsive pornography is only a few clicks away from any child with a computer. I am not talking just about Playboy and Penthouse magazines. By comparison, those magazines pale in offensiveness with the other things that are readily available. I am talking about the most hardcore, perverse types of pornography, photos, and stories featuring torture, child abuse, and bestiality. These images and stories and conversations are all available in public spaces free of charge. If nothing is done now, the pornographers may become the primary beneficiary of the information revolution. I am the first to admit that solutions to this problem are not easy ones. It requires careful balance which protects legitimate use of this exciting new technology, respects the Constitution and, most importantly, provides the maximum protection possible for America's families and America's children. After months of discussion, negotiations, and research, I am pleased to offer the Exon-Coats refinement of the Communications Decency Act provisions included in the committee-reported bill. This modification represents a carefully balanced response to growing concerns about inappropriate use of telecommunications technologies. In committee, the decency provisions were refined to clarify and to focus on wrongdoers and to avoid imposing vicarious liability on innocent information service and Internet access providers who simply act as the mailmen, if you will, for computer messages. The modification now before the Senate further clarifies that the proposed legislation does not breach constitutionally protected speech between consenting adults nor interfere with legitimate privacy rights. The revision also provides strong protection for children. Mr. President, these revisions also make it certain that provisions of the Communications Decency Act in no way adversely affect the well- litigated dial-a-porn statutes generally referred to as 47 U.S.C. 223 (b) and (c). The Communications Decency Act is not a panacea. What the legislation will do is give law enforcement new tools to prosecute those who would use the computer to make the equivalent of obscene telephone calls, to prosecute electronic stalkers who terrorize their victims, to clamp down on the electronic distributors of obscene materials, and to enhance the chances of prosecution of those who would provide pornography to children via the computer. Parents, teachers and law enforcement should not be lulled into a false sense of security. Their vigilance will still be required even after this much-needed legislation is enacted into law. New voice, video, data and imaging options will soon enter every home or be available to America's children and neighborhood schools and libraries. This information revolution will give Americans unprecedented opportunities to enrich their lives, gain knowledge, and enhance their productivity. This legislation attempts to make the information superhighway a little bit safer for families and children to travel. The time to act is now. Delay only serves those who would endanger the Nation's children and those who use the new technology to distribute obscene materials or use the secrecy of the computer medium to harass others. I urge my colleagues to stand up for families and children and vote for the Communications Decency Act. Let us put politics aside and work together to protect the children. I yield the floor. Mr. LEAHY addressed the Chair.

Mr. EXON. I am happy to agree to that.

Mr. EXON. Merely a matter of clarification. Did I understand the Senator from Vermont to include that after we finish the 2 hours equally divided or yielded back, we would have a vote at the end of that time?

Mr. EXON. I ask in a spirit of moving things along, I think there has been general agreement among the principals that we could have a time agreement on this matter and then a vote, and I would like to ask my friend from Vermont if he is prepared to propose the unanimous consent agreement that we all had agreed to.

Mr. EXON. The amendment that I am offering is a second-degree amendment to the Leahy amendment that is pending, am I correct?

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of the amendment be dispensed with.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I call up amendment No. 1362, which is at the desk, and I am introducing this on behalf of myself and Senator Coats.

Mr. EXON. I thank my friend from Vermont and I thank the Chair. Amendment No. 1362 to Amendment No. 1288, as Modified (Purpose: To provide protections against harassment, obscenity, and indecency to minors by means of telecommunications devices)

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.

Mr. EXON. Yes; that is our intent.

Mr. EXON. Yes, defense (f)(1) explicitly exempts a person who provides access to or connection with a network like Internet that is not under that person's control. Providing access or connection is meant to include transmission, downloading, storage, navigational tools, and related capabilities which are incidental to the transmission of communications. An online service that is providing such services is not aware of the contents of the communications and should not be responsible for its contents. Of course this exemption does not apply where the service provider is owned or controlled by or is in conspiracy with a maker of communications that is determined to be in violation of this statute.

Mr. EXON. I agree with the Senator from Indiana.

Mr. EXON. Yes; that is the intent of section (f)(4).

Mr. EXON. Yes; that is the intent of the amendment.

Mr. EXON. Defense (f)(1) explicitly exempts a person who merely provides access to or connection with a network like the Internet for the act of providing such access. Understanding that providing access or connection to online services is an action which can include other incidental acts, this legislation is intended to exempt from prosecution the provision of access including transmission, downloading, storage, and certain navigational functions which are incidental to providing access or connection to a network like the Internet. An online service that is providing its customers with a gateway to networks like the Internet or the worldwide web over which it has no control is generally not aware of the contents of the communications which are being made on these networks, and therefore it should not be responsible for those communications. To the extent that service providers are doing more than merely providing access to a facility or network over which they have no control, the exemption would no longer apply. For instance, if an access provider were to create a menu to assist its customers in finding the pornographic areas of the network, then that access provider would be doing more than solely providing access to the network. Further, this exemption clearly does not apply where the service provider is owned or controlled by or is in conspiracy with a pornographer who is making communications in violation of this legislation.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote by which the amendment was agreed to.

Mr. EXON. The Senator is correct. The liability standards contained in my proposal have no applicability to liability for copyright infringement. Nor are they intended to set any precedent in the copyright field.

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, I am prepared to yield back the remainder of our time, I think about 20 minutes. All I need to do is insert some additional material in the Record. If I could have 1 more minute, I would be prepared to yield back the remainder of my time. I thank my friend from Vermont for mentioning the Nebraska football again. I had a letter from Tom Osborne, the head football coach at the University of Nebraska, who wrote, ``Dear Jim: Thank you for what you are doing. I hope you are successful in passing the legislation.'' I ask unanimous consent that the Osborne letter be printed in the Record, and I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record ``No Time to Study.''

Mr. EXON. Mr. President, let me now, if I might, go into some matters that I think are tremendously important. First, I notice that my friend and colleague from Vermont indicated he has some 25,000 signatures that he has piled up on the desk down there from people who support his efforts, and his efforts are supported, of course, by my friend and colleague from Wisconsin. What they propose to do with the underlying amendment is to punt, to recognize there is a problem that they both have, but what they are suggesting we do is just delay a punt. We come from the football State of Nebraska. That is what the Nebraska football team does, Mr. President. Fourth down and 32 yards to go on their own 3-yard line, they always punt, except when they are down near the end of the game and they recognize the serious situation that they might be in and they might not get the ball back. Then they do not punt. They move aggressively forward, which is what we are trying to do in the thoughtful manner embodied in the Exon-Coats proposal. Those people that my friend and colleague from Vermont is supporting in carrying the ball would be interested in knowing, I am sure, what generated many of those letters that have been offered in debate by the Senator from Vermont. I happen to have a copy of a letter in this regard, which generated many of those letters, provided to me by my grandson. My grandson is 25 years old, and he is old enough to take care of himself. But he thought that I would be interested in this. This is a letter that has been widely distributed on the e-mail system. It says: ``The obscenity of decency. With the introduction of Senator J.J. Exon's Communications Decency Act, the barbarians are really at the gate.'' I have been called many things in my life, but never before have I been called a barbarian. I would hope that the Senator from Vermont would advise the people that he is using here as support for his position that his mutual friend, Jim Exon, is not a barbarian under any normally accepted definition of the term. Let me go into some of the things that I have been hearing and listening to and attempt, as best I can, to maybe straighten out some of the concerns that I think are very real and sincere, as stated by my colleague from Vermont and my colleague from the State of Wisconsin. First, let me say that the Exon-Coats amendment does not destroy, does not retard, does not chill accepted information, pictures, or speech. To the contrary. We are trying to make the Internet system, which is displayed here on this chart before me, safer, better, and to make it more frequently used. I do not know the authenticity of the statement that I am about to make. But I have read that it has been estimated that up to 75 percent, Mr. President, of present computer owners have refused to join the Internet system with their home computer, precisely because they know and they fear--and evidently they have seen or been advised as to what I have here in the blue book. Once again, before anyone votes against the Exon-Coats amendment, if they are interested, I am willing to share this information with them. It has pictures in it that were taken directly off the Internet system last week. So I simply say we are not trying to destroy, we are not trying to retard and we are certainly not trying to chill the great system that is the Internet. Anyone who believes that is very badly misinformed. I have also heard a great deal today about the parents' responsibilities, which, I guess, means that the parents that have such responsibilities must follow their children around all of the time. This is not simply something that the children have available to them at home. More likely, they are going to be introduced to it not at home, but in the schools. We have just made a concession in the telecommunications bill before us to give the schools and libraries a break, if you will, because we want them involved in this. The schools will be sources of the information that Senator Coats and I have been describing. The library is a place where they can pick it up. We also talk about some of the software and the off-limits proposition that some of the software may or may not provide. I simply say, Mr. President, that those who know what is going on with the Internet today--those who have seen it firsthand, those who are concerned about making the Internet the greatest thing that has ever happened as far as communications exchange is concerned--are the ones that are supporting the Exon-Coats amendment. We want to make it even bigger, and [[Page S8340]] we want to make it even better, but not for raunchy pornography that would turn most people off. And to the 25,000 people who want to call this Senator a barbarian, I simply say that, evidently, they are so selfish--at least their actions are so selfish, that they simply say: We do not want to give up anything. We want to be able to see what we want to see, where we want to see it, any time we want to see it. I simply say that what we are trying to do is constructively make some changes that are necessary. Let me review for just a moment, if I can, and make sure that everyone understands what the Internet is all about. The Internet, basically, is in the center of this chart or graph. From listening to many of my colleagues today, those who do not support the Exon-Coats amendment, I think that they view this as the way the Internet is. First, you have a child at home or an adult at home entering the Internet, and they have to buy that service from one of the many people who make money charging the entry into the Internet, where they have special provisions, special facilities which that particular provider might apply. In addition to that, they apply for entry into the massive Internet itself. From the Internet, the child or the adult can go worldwide. We can go into all kinds of sources of information--the Library of Congress, any of the great universities, and all of the other massive sources of information. I think too many people believe that because the pornography bulletin board is sitting out here to the side, that you have to work to get to the pornography bulletin board. Mr. President, that is simply not the case. The pornographers have invaded the Internet down here, so that it is freely available, without cost-- all of the outlandish, disgusting, pornographic pictures of the worst type, that some of my colleagues think we can handle by punting. This is not a time to punt; this is the time to act. I want to bring reference to the fact that this is the system that the Coats-Exon amendment is trying to create--one that is envisioned as the way the Internet system works. Actually, the way the Internet system is working today--especially with regard to totally rampant pornography--is that when the child or adult at home goes into the Internet system, all too often he is looking for something other than basic information. He would have to pay if he wants to subscribe to the pornography bulletin board. But, Mr. President, it goes both ways. These people--the moneymakers on pornography up here--are feeding information because it can be fed free of charge into the Internet system. The pictures I have here in the blue book--there are a whole series of them--were taken freely off of the Internet system free of charge and readily available to anyone who has a computer and has the basic knowledge. What these pornographers do is place free-of-charge material on the Internet that is designed to lure people over to their bulletin board so they can maybe hook them into a monthly charge of some type, to have available whenever they want from their pornography which is a library full of everything you can imagine. What they are doing is taking previews of what they have in here. They are putting them, open and at large, on the Internet system for all people to see, not unlike, Mr. President, the previews of coming attractions that we see when we go to the movies. This is what we will see next. Obviously, many of the pictures, as evidenced by the blue book, are things that are readily available. They, of course, have a way of referencing back. If you like this picture, come into our porno shop over here. For a small fee, we will show you the real thing. The real thing is right here when it comes to pornography. Mr. President, I simply say, once again, that while I am sure my friend from Vermont and my friend from Wisconsin are sincere, I appreciate very much the very kind things that both have said about the efforts of this Senator and Senator Coats because we have brought attention to this. It is the intention of the Senator from Nebraska and the Senator from Indiana, though, now that we have called attention to it, we are going to do something about it. We do something about it in a fully constitutional way. We are not going to trample on the constitutional rights of anyone. I reserve the remainder of my time.