IV
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 12
Opposing the imposition of criminal liability on Internet service providers
based on the actions of their users.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 3, 2001
Mr. DREIER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Inter-
national Relations, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
RESOLUTION
Opposing the imposition of criminal liability on Internet
service providers based on the actions of their users.
Whereas the rise of the Internet has provided more than
300,000,000 people around the world with access to
knowledge and information, fueling innovation and facili-
tating communication on an unprecedented scale;
Whereas the Internet is a revolutionary medium that has pro-
vided unlimited opportunities for communication and
commerce by allowing its users to communicate directly
with each other unedited by a gatekeeper;
Whereas the rise of the Internet has fueled the economy of
the United States by expanding job growth, increasing
productivity, and contributing to the growth of informa-
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tion technology, which has accounted for nearly one-third
of the growth in the gross domestic product since 1995;
Whereas continued growth of the Internet should be encour-
aged;
Whereas the Supreme Court of the United States found in
Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union, 521 U.S. 844
(1997), that speech on the Internet deserves the full pro-
tection of the first amendment and noted that the Inter-
net provides ‘‘vast democratic forums’’ and makes every
user a potential ‘‘town crier’’;
Whereas by passing the Cox-Wyden amendment to the Tele-
communications Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–104; 110
Stat. 56), which was approved overwhelmingly by the
House of Representatives, Congress sought to secure the
further development of the Internet by protecting Inter-
net service providers (including website hosts and the op-
erators of portals, search engines, and directories) from
civil liability for content provided by third parties;
Whereas it is inconsistent with both the first amendment and
the due process clause of the United States Constitution
to require Internet service providers to remove online ma-
terial without a determination by an independent adjudi-
cator that the content is illegal;
Whereas if the Internet is to remain an innovative and
participatory medium in which users can communicate
with each other, Internet service providers cannot be
obliged to police user conduct on the Internet under
threat of criminal liability;
Whereas courts, not Internet service providers, are equipped
to judge whether any online communication violates
criminal law;
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Whereas a number of European and Asian countries have
held Internet service providers based in the United States
liable for content that is illegal under the laws of those
countries, but protected by the first amendment to our
Constitution; and
Whereas the Council of Europe, with the participation of the
Clinton administration, is negotiating and drafting a
Cyber-crime treaty that may expose Internet service pro-
viders based in the United States to criminal liability for
third-party content that is protected by the first amend-
ment to the United States Constitution: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) opposes the imposition of criminal liability
on any Internet service provider (including any
website host and any operator of a portal, search en-
gine, or directory) based on content supplied or con-
trolled by a third party or because of links controlled
by a third party;
(2) recognizes the importance of enacting legis-
lation during the 107th Congress to protect Internet
service providers from such liability;
(3) opposes efforts by foreign governments to
hold Internet service providers based in the United
States criminally liable under foreign laws for con-
tent that is protected by the first amendment to the
United States Constitution, processed by servers lo-
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cated in the United States, and not targeted toward
the citizens of the foreign country; and
(4) opposes the expansion of liability for Inter-
net service providers under international treaties, as
in Article 12 of the Draft Convention on Cyber-
crime (Draft No. 25) prepared by the Council of Eu-
rope, which might expose Internet service providers
based in the United States to criminal liability for
third-party content, and urges the President, before
bringing the treaty to the Senate for ratification, to
obtain explicit clarification that Internet service pro-
viders will not be held criminally liable for the ac-
tions of their users.
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