Date: Tue, 09 Jan 1996 22:23:43 EST
From: WFEN20A@prodigy.com (MR DAVID W BATTERSON)
Subject: Ron Wyden fights Net censorship

Wyden Backs Freedom of Access on the Internet; Believes Parents, not 
Bureaucrats Can Best Protect Children Against Cyberporn

                   Statement by Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)

There are many differences between my opponent Gordon Smith and me in 
the U.S. Senate race in Oregon.  One of the clearest is on the 
subject of censorship of the Internet.  

When Gordon was asked at our recent debate at the City Club in 
Portland if the federal government should censor the Internet, he 
replied, "Yes, I do."

As the father of two computer-literate children, I join the millions 
of American parents who want to keep smut and pornography away from 
our kids using the Internet.  But I believe parents and families, not 
government bureaucrats, are better suited to guard the portals of 
cyberspace and protect our kids.

Gordon Smith believes otherwise.  His support for federal censorship 
of the Internet echoes the heavy-handed regulatory approach proposed 
by Senator Exxon that is now part of the telecommunications 
legislation.  If Congress adopts this method, it will lead to 
countless constitutional challenges and unprotected families.

I support a different approach.  Last summer I introduced legislation 
with Congressman Chris Cox (R-California) to clean up the Internet 
while preserving the efficiency and open access of the world-wide 
computer network.  Entitled the "Internet Freedom and Family 
Empowerment Act," the bill sought to encourage and protect private 
sector initiatives that improve user control over computer 
information services.  

In the meantime, parents do not have to wait for Congress to act to 
protect their children against cyberporn.  Reasonably priced software 
that blocks pornography on the Internet is available now at 
neighborhood computer stores.  

The proper role of government in protecting our children against 
cyberporn is to support efforts by the marketplace to create such 
software and other filtering technologies.  What the Internet does 
not need is what Gordon Smith wants:  big government telling you what 
you can and cannot read and see.

Wyden For Senate
http://www.teleport.com/~wyden
PO Box 3498 Portland, OR 97208
Phone: 503-248-9567
Fax: 503-248-9890

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Note: Wyden is also queer-friendly, and has publicly backed the right 
to have gay & lesbian marriages.