Re: S.652 (H.R. 1555)

["Declan B. McCullagh" <declan+@CMU.EDU>]

Excerpts from internet.cypherpunks: 8-Jan-96 S.652 (H.R. 1555) by Harry
Bartholomew@netcom 
>     Perhaps some of our more lawyerly types can decipher whether
>     it is getting better or worse as the conference committee chews.
>     Not I.

I'm not a lawyerly type by any means, but my understanding is that it's
getting worse:

* The provision prohibiting the FCC from regulating the Net has been removed.
* The max fine for "indecent" speech is now $250,000.

The budget crisis stalled work on the legislation, and many
congressperns are out of town. But the Senate wants the bill to pass in
its current form, as does the White House -- Gore called it "an early
Christmas present to the American people."

The only opposition is from the House freshman Republicans, who are
criticizing the bill on other grounds. Since they don't want to be seen
as "porn-sympathetic," my guess is that the indecency provisions will
stay in. And the bill should become law within the next month.

-Declan