Government regulation will stifle this new industry. The Internet has been growing at an exponential rate and new uses for it are devised daily. Overly restrictive bans against indecency on the Internet will prove not only unconstitutional but will also hamper the growth of this new communications medium.
Predictor: Leahy, Patrick
Prediction, in context:In a 1995 congressional press release, the comments made by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) at a hearing on cyberporn and children include the following: ”This is the very first hearing held on the issue of regulating indecent and obscene material on the Internet and the problem of children’s access to objectionable online material … When the Senate passed a restrictive version of the Exon-Coats Communications Decency Act on June 14, over my objection and those of Senator Feingold, it did so without the benefit of hearings or anything approaching a thorough examination of the matter … We are finding that software entrepreneurs and the vibrant forces of the free market are providing tools that can empower parents to restrict their children’s access to offensive material. We can address the problem of online pornography by empowering parents, and not the government, to screen children’s computer activities. This is the best way to police the Internet without unduly restricting free speech or squelching the growth of this fantastic new communications medium … Government regulation will stifle this new industry. The Internet has been growing at an exponential rate and new uses for it are devised daily. Overly restrictive bans against indecency on the Internet will prove not only unconstitutional but will also hamper the growth of this new communications medium.”
Biography:Patrick Leahy was a U.S. Senate member who played an important role in Congressional discussions of the Internet in the 1990s. (Legislator/Politician/Lawyer.)
Date of prediction: July 24, 1995
Topic of prediction: Controversial Issues
Subtopic: Jurisdiction/Control
Name of publication: Congressional Press Releases
Title, headline, chapter name: Congressional Action: Statement of Senator Leahy at Hearing on Cyperporn and Children, the Scope of the Problem, the State of the Technology and Need for Congressional Action
Quote Type: Direct quote
Page number or URL of document at time of study:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=5d15882f4ffc75728b8dd01a9419ad2f&_docnum=12&wchp=dGLbVzz-lSlzV&_md5=03c277f2c8fb0aa368fe9db6b7b360e0
This data was logged into the Elon/Pew Predictions Database by: Little, Brandi W.