"It's a sad day for free speech in America," said Barry Steinhardt,associate director of the ACLU. "These are criminal laws, and we don'tbelieve that anyone can really understand at this point what materials andcontent is permissible and what's not," he said.
The ACLU and other organizations have since filed a lawsuit to impose a banon the act while it is under consideration. The judge in the federaldistrict court in Philadelphia has set a 3 p.m. (ET) hearing to review themotion for the temporary restraining order, according to Steinhardt. "We'rehopeful we will win. Even the president has expressed some reservationsabout this section," he said. Steinhardt thinks this issue will likely endup in the U.S. Supreme Court in the next two years.
Other provisions include:
-Forcing local telephone companies to open up their networks tocompetitors, allowing consumers for the first time to have a choice oflocal phone carriers.
-Deregulating cable TV rates, allowing cable companies to offer newservices, including telephone-calling or Internet access.
-Relaxing curbs on TV and radio station ownership.
-Allowing parents to have more control over what their kids watch on TVbecause of the "V-chip" provision. The V-chip will let parents zap fromtheir TV sets violent and other objectionable content.
For more on these issues, read CNET's censorship feature.