As mainframe-scale computing power has become available to consumers for about the same price as a fancy television, computing has gone mainstream, with millions of Americans now connected to one another via the Internet. Unfettered by the limitations of older technologies, the Internet provides millions of Americans with a portal to a universe of information. Every day more Americans connect to the Internet for everything from purchasing birthday presents to checking on which fertilizer to use on the lawn next month. Millions of Americans use the Internet for all kinds of commercial transactions involving everything from stock trades to purchasing books and CDs. Which companies will provide the computer hardware and software, and Internet access, for consumers is being determined in the daily competition taking place in a rapidly evolving marketplace.
Old companies fall and new companies emerge with each new technological innovation.
Included in this universe of information is much adult-oriented material, some of which can be viewed with the simple click of a mouse. AOL's attorney, William W. Burrington, testified in federal court against the CDA, arguing that America Online would be forced to pull the plug on many of its services if the CDA remained in effect. AOL vigorously stood against government regulation of online content, and ultimately prevailed. Taxing e-commerce transactions is inherently problematic, particularly in determining jurisdictions. Recognizing the problems inherent in taxing e-commerce, and the potentially destructive impact such taxes could have on the continued development of the Internet, Congress enacted the Internet Tax Freedom Act in 1996.