HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - Internext featured many special guests as key speakers, including Declan McCullagh, chief political correspondent for CNETNews.com, who led the discussion "Politics and Porn - Threat or Menace?"
McCullagh is known for his journalistic work for Wired, Time.com and other publications, writing about free speech, politics and the Internet from a libertarian perspective since 1993. His work also has appeared in Playboy, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Magazine, and he has taught two First Amendment-law courses at Case Western Reserve University. McCullagh was one of the plaintiffs in the 1996 challenge to the Communications Decency Act, and has won a free-speech award from the American Civil Liberties Union. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, an intellectual-property litigator.
"Is the industry enjoying more or less freedom?" McCullagh asked at the discussion. "Do we need Washington?" McCullagh said he lived in Washington for a long time and believes that "they do not have a clue, and it is not a place to trust with your liberty." He spoke about certain senators and politicians, discussing how stances they've taken could be considered questionable.
McCullagh spoke about a Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee chairman who believes that "banning porn is God's work." He discussed former Florida Congressman Mark Foley, who created and led a crusade against child pornography called "Child Modeling Exploitation Prevention Act," but got caught soliciting pictures of underage boys. "He would have gotten caught under his own law," McCullagh joked. The bill never became law, and Foley resigned.
McCullagh also said that many politicians lead crusades against pornographic material but show it to and reproduce it for interested parties. "Hypocrites, maybe?" he asked.
He spoke about Time magazine's cover story on "Cyberporn," which included a study on kids watching porn. The article's research was deemed invalid by experts and reporters, he said, and the magazine printed a retraction. However, the damage was done, he said.
All in all, McCullagh said, we should not be optimistic. Members in the Bush administration, he said, are more concerned about implementing anti-porn laws than combating terrorism.
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