A call for electronic free speech By Susan Tucker One senator who is not idle is

W HETHER you've just started to use TechCentral or are a

certified fanatic (as are several staff members here at AECT headquar- ters), you are at the "vanguard of the most important free-speech struggle of our age," according to the Washington Post.

In an impassioned call to arms to defend electronic free speech, Post computer columnist T. R. Reid says a challenge is brewing in Congress against those who want to keep elec- tronic speech free; that is, outside the reach of government bureaucrats who want to regulate and control computer communications. "If Pat- rick Henry and Tom Paine were around today, they would be distrib- uting their pamphlets via computer networks," writes Reid.

One bill, S. 1305, sponsored by Senator Paul Trible (R-Va.), would authorize the feds to read electroni- cally over your shoulder whenever you call a bulletin board. If you call a bulletin board that carries what Tri- ble considers to be "offensive mate- rial," you'd be a criminal under S. 1305, according to Reid. Trible's bill was inspired by reports that comput- er-network users were using bulletin boards to exchange messages about child pornography.

"Nobody would stand for it if a U.S. senator proposed that the gov- ernment approve all the books you read in your own home or if a local prosecutor seized a daily newspa- per's presses," writes Reid. "Nei- ther can we stand by quietly when the same Big Brotherism is brought to bear against electronic forms of speech."

Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.). Leahy has introduced S. 1667, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which would establish a body of law for electronic messaging based on prin- ciples drawn from postal and tele- phone legal standards. (A compan- ion bill in the House is H.R. 3378.) The bill would extend the current wiretap privacy provisions to in- clude data communications (such as electronic mail), create civil and criminal penalties for unauthorized access to electronic communications systems, and protect against unau- thorized disclosure of third-party records. Preliminary hearings were held on the House bill last fall; fur- ther hearings are expected this spring.

O �9 �9 One of the subnetworks on Tech-

Central, CHAMBER NET, soon will provide executives and staffpro- fessionals of local chambers of com- merce with access to the latest infor- mation on every aspect of chamber management. The Chamber Infor- mation Central program represents a long-term commitment by the Amer- ican Chamber of Commerce Execu- tives (ACCE) to collect, catalog, and disseminate information on member- ship, economic development, re- search, communications, govern- mental relations, computer technol- ogy, community leadership, and other activities involved in chamber of commerce management.

The subnetwork currently is being tested with a small group of ACCE members; the objective is to make it available to the full ACCE member- ship in 1987. The 35 chambers in- volved in the project are being asked

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not only to test TechCentral's elec- tronic-mail system but, more impor- tantly, to contribute creative appli- cations and substantive information on chamber management.

TechCentral also recently became the official telecommunications sys- tem of the 2,500-member Greater Washington Society of Association Executives (GWSAE), the most in- fluential organization of its kind. The addition of CHAMBER NET and GWSAE-NET will help AECT fi- nancially long term, according to AECT Executive Director Lyn Gubser, "but we also acquire new political resources to carry out our mission of improving education and training through appropriate applica- tion of technology."

Another addition to TechCentral's database is USA Today Online. TechCentral users now may gain ac- cess to news stories in progress, immediate weather and financial re- ports, and regular USA Today col- umns and syndicated features. This seems like an especially valuable service for school and university li- braries.

O �9 �9 Finally, check the TechCentral

main menu for several new addi- tions. TechCentral now offers telex- interface and hardcopy-delivery services. What this means is that within 48 hours of registering online, you can have your own free telex number and can send your telex to almost anywhere in the world. In terms of hardcopy delivery, Tech- Central now functions much like Federal Express's Zapmail, enabling you to send paper versions of your electronic transmissions directly from your computer. �9