The 105th Congress (1997-1998) has now completed its legislative activity in October 1998. Given a last minute flurry of activity, it turned out to be a very busy session for the Internet. The massive spending bill that was passed at the end of the term included several pieces of legislation affecting civil liberties on the Net.

A major setback was enactment of "harmful to minors" censorship legislation. CDT believes that this latest law, like Congress' first attempt to regulate content on the Internet, is unnecessary, ineffective and unconstitutional. It has already been challenged in the courts.

Also passed were landmark legislation protecting kids' privacy online and digital signatures legislation that will help citizens better interact with their government.

Left behind were reform of export controls on encryption and proposals to limit unsolicited commercial email or "spam." The question of broader privacy protections for adult users also went unaddressed.

Here is CDT's quick guide to what was enacted and what died in the 105th Congress.