------- Forwarded Message To: "Vinton G. Cerf" , gnu@toad.com Subject: Re: Technology Policy and Information Infrastructure Date: Sat, 13 Feb 93 01:43:31 -0800 From: gnu@toad.com Sound bites for Congress re technology policy and information infrastructure: * Government investment invariably brings government control, which is harmful to the development of a communications medium in a free and open society. * The Government seized control of telegraphy, radio, and television early in their development, and they have never had full First Amendment protection. * Private, interactive electronic media involve Fourth and Fifth Amendment issues as well. * The Executive Branch is already advocating broad wiretapping, and banning of privacy technologies, and they don't even own the network. If the government owned the network, there'd be no stopping them. * The risk of moving society into media where individual rights are regularly abridged is too great. Economics is pushing us into individual electronic communication, regardless. * If Congress truly believes in the Bill of Rights, it should get the hell out of the networking business and stay out of it. John Gilmore (not speaking for) Electronic Frontier Foundation (but ask EFF if they want to say something like this...) ------- End of Forwarded Message