Dan Coats: “during Senate consideration of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 I, along with Senator James Exon, introduced an…”

“during Senate consideration of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 I, along with Senator James Exon, introduced an amendment to the Act which came to be known as the Communications Decency Act or CDA. This amendment held forth a basic principle, that children should be sheltered from obscene and indecent pornography. There was spirited debate on the amendment. However, ultimately the Senate adopted the CDA by an overwhelming margin of 84 to 16. On the very day that the President signed the Telecommunications Act into law, the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Library Association, along with America On-Line and other representatives of the computer industry, filed a law suit against the CDA in District Court. In short, the case ultimately came before the Supreme Court, where it was struck down. Mr. President, however much I disagree with the ruling of the Supreme Court, it is reality and as such, I have studied the opinion of the Court and come before my colleagues today to introduce legislation that reflects the parameters laid out by the Court's opinion.”