CDA and Filtering

[JOSEPH MAXIMILLIAN MURPHY]

>Well I bet nobody is partying harder tonight than the fitlering vendors.
>If any of there stock is publicly traded, I bet it way up today.  While
>I have no legal training whatsover (other than a business law class as a
>college sophomore), it does seem from my reading of this text from
>today's decison that filters played a key role in the Courts decison:

David's thoughts here are particularly interesting in regard to H.R. 774, a
bill introduced by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) which would require ISPs to offer
filtering software to their customers. My reading of the bill left me wondering
if it would only apply to commercial entities, or if libraries could also be
defined as "engaged in the business of providing a computer and communications
facility through which a customer may obtain access to the Internet." I'm no
legal expert, so anyone who actually understands Legalese might want to comment
on that.

You know, there could be a lot of strange bedfellows made between opponents of
filtering and of large unfunded Federal mandates...

More info on H.R. 774 is available through Thomas, at 
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c105query.html or the Citizens' Internet
Empowerment Coalition, at http://www.ciec.org/SC_appeal/970626_Lofgren.html

-Joe Murphy            "Sometimes you just have to look reality in the face
murphyj at cua.edu         and deny it."
                           -- Garrison Keillor