J. Exon: “I appreciate the questions raised by my colleague, Senator Levin. These questions are important and helpful. In general…”

“I appreciate the questions raised by my colleague, Senator Levin. These questions are important and helpful. In general, the legislation is directed at the creators and senders of obscene and indecent information. For instance, new section 223(d)(1) holds liable those persons who knowingly use an interactive computer service to send indecent information or to display indecent information to persons under 18 years of age. You can't use a computer to give pornography to children. The legislation generally does not hold liable any entity that acts like a common carrier without knowledge of messages it transmits or hold liable an entity which provides access to another system over which the access provider has no ownership of content. Just like in other pornography statutes, Congress does not hold the mailman liable for the mail that he/she delivers. Nothing in CDA repeals the protections of the Electronic Message Privacy Act. For instance, new section 223(e)(1) states that ``no person shall be held to have violated subsection (a) or (d) solely for providing access or connection to or from a facility, system, or network not under that person's control, * * * that does not include the creation of the content of the communication.'' In other words, the telephone companies, the computer services such as Compuserve, universities that provide access to sites on Internet which they do not control, are not liable.…”