It is wrong to have the Christian Coalition judge what is appropriate speech on the Internet or anywhere else. I am particularly concerned about the potential impact of this provision on HIV-prevention programs. The indecent provision has the potential to ban explicit HIV-prevention materials from the Internet . The Internet has great potential as a tool in HIV prevention. It has the potential to provide accurate information that could be used by young people to protect themselves from HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Organizations currently provide detailed information on the proper use of condoms.
The question remains whether individuals working for these AIDS organizations in California could be arrested and extradited to more conservative parts of the country because this information was obtained by an individual under 18 years of age. Banning HIV-prevention information does not protect young people. In fact, it can have the opposite effect. This computer censorship provision is wrong and should not be part of this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I would like to address the concerns raised by some over the language in the bill protecting minors from indecent communications over the Internet .