cd tilde = C = cdr

CDA /C-D-A/

The "Communications Decency Act" of 1996, passed on Black Thursday as section 502 of a major telecommunications reform bill. The CDA made it a federal crime in the USA to send a communication which is "obscene, lewd, lascivious, filthy, or indecent, with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass another person." It also threatened with imprisonment anyone who "knowingly" makes accessible to minors any message that "describes, in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards, sexual or excretory activities or organs".

While the CDA was sold as a measure to protect minors from the putative evils of pornography, the repressive political aims of the bill were laid bare by the Hyde amendment, which intended to outlaw discussion of abortion on the Internet.

To say that this direct attack on First Amendment free-speech rights was not well received on the Internet would be putting it mildly. A firestorm of protest followed, including a February 29th mass demonstration by thousands of netters who turned their home pages black for 48 hours. Several civil-rights groups and computing/telecommunications companies mounted a constitutional challenge. The CDA was demolished by a strongly-worded decision handed down in 8th-circuit Federal court and subsequently affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court on 26 June 1997 (`White Thursday'). See also Exon.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.

'Christen Democratisch Appel' (Christian Democratic Appeal) is a Dutch political party. Its program is centered around norms and values. Currently its political leader is Jan Peter Balkenende, who currently is demissionary Prime Minister of The Netherlands.

The CDA was formed in 1980 by a merger of the ARP (anti-revolutionary party), the CHU (Christian Historian Union) and the KVP (Catholic People's Party).

The CDA has played a prominent role in Dutch politics in the late 20th century. It has participated in several coalitions. Dries van Agt, Ruud Lubbers and Jan Peter Balkenende all were Dutch CDA Prime Ministers.

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