Subject: Communications Decency Act of 1995

From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 06 Mar 95 09:47:34 +0100

Hi all.

I am not at all in favour of any form of censorship or
restriction of freedom of speech. But, after reading the text
of the "Communications Decency Act of 1995", I think the
discussion on the net is a bit overheated. More seriously, I
think it focuses on the wrong issue. 

The act clearly says that only "whoever KNOWINGLY" provides
facilities for distributing doubtful messages is subject to
prosecution. I cannot see why this should necessarily lead to
general censorship on email. 

The real threat is the general principle behind the whole
thing, also very noticeable in very different fields: The
urge to protect their citizens from any bad influences, from
any mishap, even from the consequences of their own
misbehaviour that our governments seem to feel so strongly. 
Neither the Swiss, nor I dare say any other European government
is any better than the American in this respect.

I think we should teach our governments to respect their
citizens as responsible, thinking and independent individuals,
rather than viewing them as an unstructured mass without
any trace of self-responsibility that has to be protected from
all sorts of evil. 

Simply the concept of "Decency", in the context of federal
legislation, is all wrong; even more so, as the U.S. are a
country of amazing cultural diversity (It is sad that so many
government officials and voting citizens should see a nuisance
rather than a form of wealth in this). It smacks of the chinese
neighbourship commitee and of a new witch hunt. 

Therefore, and not for fear of censorship on the internet, I
think we are all well advised to oppose legislation such as the
one in question. We are challenged as scientists, who should be
concerned about the independence and self-responsibility of the
indiviual, rather than as internet- and telephone users.    
Science is impossible in an environment that enforces its concept
of "Decency" and "right belief" by legislation.

Greetings from Switzerland

Marcel.

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Marcel Utz                                              phone:  +41 1 632 5672 
Institute of Polymers                                     fax:  +41 1 632 1096
ETH-Zurich CNB E 98.2
CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland                  email: [email-masked]
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