Subject: TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT (Press Release/Advisory
From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 9 Feb 1996 14:27:37 -0500

PRESS RELEASE and ADVISORY
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation/San Francisco Bay Area

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  February 9, 1996
CONTACT:  Al Kielwasser, 415-861-2224 or Kristy Billuni, 415-861-3021

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  C L I N T O N   S I G N S   P R O - C E N S O R S H I P ,  A N T I - G A Y

                    T E L E C O M M U N I C A T I O N S   A C T  

**    New Legislation Panders to Ignorance, Violates Public Trust

**    Key Regulations Appease Christian Coalition and Others "Drunk With
Dysfunction" 

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San Francisco & Washington, DC  -   Passed by Congress on February 1, a
sweeping telecommunications bill (S652 - H Rept 104-458) was signed into law
yesterday by the President.  Both Congress and the Clinton Administration
lent enthusiastic support to the new legislation, while critics point to the
law's gross violation of free expression and the public trust. 

The San Francisco chapter of GLAAD -- the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation -- has joined with numerous progressive organizations in
condemning the legislation.  "We are calling upon our members to support any
and every effort to challenge, resist or defy these unacceptable
regulations," said GLAAD managing director Kristy Billuni.  

Touted as a telecommunications "deregulation" and "reform" bill, this
legislation actually imposes substantial content regulations affecting both
television and the Internet.  These  new rules pose at least three major
obstacles for lesbians and gays: 

          *  By diminishing the scope of a broadcaster's public
accountability - and allowing even further concentration of media ownership
and control - this legislation is likely to discourage rather than encourage
real diversity in programming. 

          *  If history is any indicator, the new v-chip technology will be
applied indiscriminately to "block out" programs that deal in any way with
homosexuality, bisexuality or transgender issues.  Moreover, such technology
replaces media literacy (the ability to critically understand certain
content) with media stupidity (the ability to automatically avoid certain
content). 

          *  Finally, the criminalization of "indecent" online communication
will further chill an already icy Information Superhighway.  Lesbian and gay
youth will particularly suffer; in our fiercely homophobic society, the
Internet is often a literal life-line of information and support for these
youth.  

"To appease the dysfunctional addictions of Christian Coalition lobbyists,
these regulations pander to homophobia and sex-negativity," said GLAAD
spokesperson Al Kielwasser.  "This legislation is NOT about protecting young
minds.  It's about projecting old fears." 

Founded in 1988, the San Francisco Bay Area Chapter of GLAAD is an
independently-incorporated, nonprofit organization dedicated to cultural
advocacy and media activism.  GLAAD/San Francisco promotes the fair, accurate
and diverse representation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives.
 GLAAD/San Francisco is the oldest GLAAD chapter in the nation, and one of
the largest lesbian/gay membership organizations in California.

                                                           --  30 --

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1.  F o l l o w - U p   S t o r i e s.

          Members of the MAINSTREAM press are advised NOT to "drop the ball"
on this story.  Though the legislation passed into law yesterday  -  and the
court cases might be some way off  -  there are still urgent stories to be
told TODAY.  

GLAAD encourages investigative reporters, columnists and beat journalists to
bring much-needed attention to the on-going impact this new legislation will
have on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media consumers (e.g., the
deleterious consequences for gay youth).  The additional contacts provided
below provide various starting points -- and points of view -- to stimulate
and broaden news coverage in this area.  

2.  M e d i a   S o u r c e s   &   R e s o u r c e s.

***   Cathy Renna, Chair, GLAAD/National Capital Area, tel. 202-429-9500, fax
202-857-0077.  Renna is the point person for GLAAD's Washington, DC chapter.

***   Karen Wickre, Director, Digital Queers, 1360 Mission Street, 2nd Floor,
San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-252-6282, fax 415-252-6290, e-mail
[email-masked] or [email-masked], URL http://www.dq.org/dq/.  Digital Queers is
a gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender nonprofit that promotes activist/community
use of new computer technologies.  
          For angry citizens who want to (easily) send messages to their
members of Congress, DQ recommends E-Mail Democracy on the web
(http://www.primenet.com/solutions/congress/democracy.html).  For the full
text of the telecommunications act, go to the Thomas web site
(http://thomas.loc.gov/); Bill Clinton's home page is located at:
 http://www.whitehouse.gov/.

***   Jeff Cohen, Executive Director, Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, 130
West 25th Street, New York, NY 10001, tel. 212-633-6700, fax 212-727-7668,
e-mail [email-masked], URL http://www.fair.org/fair/.  F.A.I.R. is a
national news-media watchdog, which has specifically encouraged the
mainstream press to investigate and report on widespread claims that the
telecommunications bill will encourage marketplace competition and expand the
range of consumer choice; according to F.A.I.R., "a more accurate description
would be that it will encourage monopolies . . .  Issues of how we can create
access for other, noncommercial voices, have not been addressed, since such
voices played such a small role in writing this bill."

***   Jerry Berman, Executive Director, The Center for Democracy and
Technology, 1001 G Street NW, Suite 500 East, Washington, DC 20001, tel.
202-637-9800, fax 202-637-0968, e-mail [email-masked] or [email-masked], URL
http://www.cdt.org.  CDT advances public policy that supports democratic
values and constitutional civil liberties in new computer and communications
technologies; the group is planing a court challenge to the new
telecommunications law. 

***   Leanne Katz, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship,
275 Seventh Avenue, new York, NY 10001, tel. 212-807-6222, e-mail
[email-masked].  NCAC works through 46 national participating organizations
to inform and educate the public about the dangers of censorship and how to
oppose it; The NCAC newsletter (Censorship News, No. 60) notes that:
"Self-styled 'decency' groups are now powerful players in lobbying Congress
for Internet censorship, and are being characterized as moderate in
mainstream media."

***   Robert Bray, Field Director, National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, 1360
Mission Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel, 552-6448, e-mail
[email-masked], URL http://www.ngltf.org.  Bray is a media contact on many
issues for NGLTF, a Washington DC-based organizations  which has opposed
recent efforts to legislate "communications decency."

***   Mike Spanola, F.I.S.H. and GLAAD/Eye on the Right, 1360 Mission Street,
2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94103, tel. 415-861-2244, e-mail
[email-masked].  F.I.S.H. monitors and responds to Right Wing
"fundamentalist" activities, media and organizations.

***   Chris Kryzan, Director, OutProud: The National Coalition for Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender Youth, P.O. Box 24589, San Jose, CA
95118-4589, e-mail [email-masked], URL http://www.outproud.org/outproud/.
 OutProud's database can point the way to youth organizations and services
across the country; Kryzan monitors Internet use/access issues as they impact
children and youth. 

***   National Gay and Lesbian Rights Project, American Civil Liberties
Union, 132 West 43rd Street, New York, NY, 10036, tel. 212-944-9800 ext. 545,
URL http://www.aclu.org.  The ACLU immediately vowed to mount a court
challenge to the constitutionality of the "indecency" regulations provided in
the new telecommunications act.

***   Journal of Technology Law & Policy, University of Florida, College of
Law, P.O. Box 117640, Gainesville, FL 32611-7640, fax 352-377-7655, e-mail
[email-masked], URL http://grove.ufl.edu/~techlaw.  One of several
academic journals that serves as platforms for in-depth analysis.  JTLP is
"devoted to exploring the legal and policy issues raised by emerging
technology;" issues are published on the web to promote access.

For additional media referrals or story ideas, contact Al Kielwasser or
Kristy Billuni (see above) or GLAAD/San Francisco's public information
coordinator, Ann McClintock (tel. 415-861-2244, e-mail [email-masked]).

3.  A d d i t i o n a l   S t o r y   B a c k g r o u n d 
    (New Concentration & Content Provisions) 

          The new telecommunications regulations are rather detailed and
expansive.  Broadly speaking, however, the more-objectionable aspects are
those regulations covering media concentration and content.  As summarized by
Congressional Quarterly, these key provisions address:

**    Media Concentration & Cross-Ownership  -  Networks, previously limited
to owning stations that reached a total of 25 percent of the nation's
televisions, will now be allowed to reach 35 percent.  A cap on owning more
than 20 FM radio stations and 20 AM stations has also been rescinded.  The
law also lifts a provision of the 1984 cable deregulation law (PL 98-549)
that banned a television station from owning a cable company in the same area
(or vice versa), although this type of cross-ownership may still be illegal
under an existing FCC rule. 

**    Restrictions on Content  -  With regard to so-called "Cybersmut," the
new law bans dissemination of  "indecent" material on the Internet and online
services. It allows a legal defense for services and Internet access
providers if they make a good faith effort to block "indecent" material.  The
bill also requires television sets with screens of at least 13 inches to
include special computer devices called "v-chips,"  which will allow parents
to "screen out" objectionable material. The cable and broadcast industry have
one year to develop ratings for sex and violence, which will be
electronically sent to television sets.  If broadcasters and cablecasters do
not do so, the FCC may draft such ratings. 

______________________________________________________________

GLAAD/San Francisco Bay Area 
1360 Mission Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, California 94103
Administration 415-861-2244    
Facsimile 415-861-4893
Hotline 415-861-4588
E-Mail [email-masked] 
World Wide Web  http://www.ccnet.com/gaytrek/glaad.html