With the help of the Christian Coalition and antiporn groups, members of Congress are already crafting a more narrowly tailored anti-indecency statute that may require the rating of Web sites and the use of filtering software that can screen out indecent material. President Clinton favors such a solution, though he's trying to bully industry into accepting it voluntarily, as he got broadcasters to do with the V-chip. But the tools are fraught with problems. Earlier this year, for example, the Boston library system installed CyberPatrol on its public terminals. And the company that makes CyberPatrol won't release a list of blocked sites, so it's difficult to find out what's missing, not to mention whether your site has been banned.
Rating systems present similar problems.
The lesson in the end may be that a case filed under Speech might better be filed under Power after all. Join a discussion in the Digital Edition Forums . All rights reserved. Electronic redistribution for nonprofit purposes is permitted, provided this notice is attached in its entirety. Unauthorized, for-profit redistribution is prohibited.