Net effect of CDA unclear worldwide

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While skeptical about the city-state's motives behind its Internet regulations this official concedes that there is a legitimate argument to be made on that government's behalf.

"You do not see in Singapore any of the social ills in the United States and other Western countries. Unemployment is well under 3 percent, violent street crime for all practical purposes does not exist, the divorce rate is 1 percent or 2 percent, drug abuse is non-existent," the official noted. "Whether this is a function of Asian values, I don't know. But Singapore can be forgiven for some of its policies."

Kohona believes that any substantial effort to regulate the Internet must begin with clear policies at the national level. That is no easy task, even in countries where the government holds a firm grip on societal mores.

China, for instance, is attempting to clear all online communications through one giant, state-run Internet service provider called China Internet--a monumental feat that many security experts doubt can be pulled off in a country of 1 billion people and growing PC usage.

So far, the only case about online freedoms that has actually led to international jurisdictional conflict occurred last December in Germany, when a prosecutor in Munich warned CompuServe that it could be in violation of German law because of pornographic material posted to its newsgroups. CompuServe responded by shutting down access to some 200 newsgroups worldwide because it was not technologically feasible to block them out in only one country or any other geographical designation. The company later lifted the blackout after providing its members with filtering software.

Even the strongest advocates of the CDA understand that the scope of the law is severely limited beyond U.S. borders. In a parallel challenge to the CDA now under way in Manhattan, U.S. District Judge Dennise L. Cote questioned the effectiveness of a proposed rating on Web sites maintained in foreign countries and, therefore, not subject to American law.

"What assurance is there that they would choose to label themselves?" Cote asked Dan Olsen, a computer science professor at Brigham Young University who also testified on behalf of the government in the American Civil Liberties Union vs. Janet Reno trial in Philadelphia.