HOLLYWOOD, FL — CNET News.com chief political correspondent and summer Internext Expo keynote speaker Declan McCullagh is not a man of small opinions or observations. Currently living in the Bay Area, the epicenter of the internet’s awakening, and with more than a decade of professional experience in the nation’s capital to draw upon, McCullagh aptly and succinctly shared his unique insights, concerns, and cautious optimisms about the government’s historic war on civil liberties with those assembled during the late Friday morning presentation which asked the eternal electronic communication question: Politicans and Porn: Threat or Menace?While addressing the question of whether things are better or worse than in the past, McCullagh revealed a calm but passionate belief that the government that governs least, governs best… regardless of political affiliation.
After recounting a tradition of hypocrisy and moral meddling among its members, the libertarian minded pundit opined that “I view Congress as something of a lost cause,” a statement he amended slightly, clarifying that even a few calls from constituents can alert a Congress member to the importance of issues previously considered of little value. Given that most Congressional offices and staffs are small, McCullagh indicted that feedback can quickly be distributed to the appropriate individuals, prompting unexpected results – something that the Far Right figured out long ago.
McCullagh pointed out that, ironically and somewhat tragically, public relations black eyes such as Representative Mark Foley’s promotion of website labeling and the Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act while simultaneous soliciting precisely the kinds of images he sought to penalize others for viewing, may have inadvertently been a boon to the much-maligned online adult entertainment industry. While attempts to slip mandatory site labeling into law by burying it within “must pass” legislation for government funding might otherwise have passed unnoticed, its association with the discredited congressman may well be responsible for its current inability to succeed.
Unfortunately, self-described “cynical as P.J. O’Rourke” McCullagh observed that “Now we’re seeing more and more wacky laws proposed by the Foleys of the world.”
Alas, although 11 years have passed since Bay Area BBS owners Robert and Carleen Thomas were tried and convicted of obscenity in Memphis, TN, McCullagh does not see our elected officials of either major party becoming much more tech savvy nor sympathetic to the cause of online communications. By way of example, he reminded the audience that Senator James Exon (D-NE) insisted that “this is the time to put some restrictions or guidelines on it,” when it became obvious that the internet was likely to become a major, unregulated means for communicating. Working with ill-respected Senators Larry Pressler (R-ND) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the bi-partisan triad have been particularly interested in curtailing the presence of adult entities on the internet, prompting McCullagh to remark that there is “No difference between censor-happy Republicans and censor-happy Democrats,” especially during an election cycle such as the country is moving into now.
“It’s amazing how much Washington doesn’t ‘get’” about technology, the amiable and accessible speaker said, echoing the thoughts of many assembled to hear him speak. Perhaps even more troubling than its ignorance is its refusal to acknowledge its lack of knowledge and possible harm to he citizenry. For instance, Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), chief of the Congressional Internet Caucus not only insists upon promoting mandatory content filtering but makes no apologies for the number of non-indecent, non-violent websites trapped on the wrong side of such technology. In their eagerness to eradicate pornographic content from the pipes, politicos such as Goodlatte appear quite content to see legitimate groups such as the National Organization for Women, various animal rights activists, and other far more benign entities become effectively invisible to surfers.
As McCullagh sees it, such calculated rights sacrifices are a result of a political ideology that favors parti pris over truth. “For a politician with an agenda,” he charged, “facts and figures aren’t very important.”
Fortunately, not all is grim. Although it’s true that “blue-nosed prudes” have been able to chill online speech and within the past few days have passed S.602, the so-called “The Child Safe Viewing Act,” which aims to enforce FCC-style regulation on the internet, McCullagh believes that the future holds promise thanks, in part, to its up and coming tech savvy youth, many of whom see adult content as a natural part of the internet.
McCullagh sited the success of Republican stealth candidate Ron Paul to garner attention online for his libertarian-inspired presidential run – complete with efforts to remove all federal obscenity laws – as evidence of politically active youth in action. While he appears to have no delusions about America’s youth pushing through a Paul presidency, the politically astute writer/photographer did indicate that he felt Paul and his longshot campaign are “at least worth watching.”
Hopefully America’s porn loving men and women agree.
For more information about Declan McCullagh, visit www.McCullagh.org and/or www.PoliTechBot.com.
