This is a key victory for common sense, free speech and the Internet, and it's definitely cause for celebration. But it's important to note that it is just one victory in what is certain to be an ongoing ideological war—vigilance is still required.

The "threat" of child pornography on the Internet is analogous to the Red Scare of the 1950s, and just as politically charged—CDA proponents are not limited to the far right. The danger is not so much that these forces will fight all the way to the Supreme Court—where the Philadelphia decision would almost certainly be upheld—but that they will reformulate their attempts to filter Internet content in ways that will ultimately prove successful. There is already a strong drive toward control and regulation of World Wide Web content, as evidenced by Microsoft's insidious decision to employ editorial screening of links on MSN News, and by "parental control" software like SurfWatch.

The following organizations, all of which are involved in the Web-based Blue Ribbon Campaign for Free Speech Online, can help you stay in touch with these and other evolving First Amendment issues:

• The American Civil Liberties Union.
• The Center for Democracy & Technology.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center.
• Voters' Telecommunications Watch.

By all means, celebrate this week's landmark victory in Philadelphia. But keep your eyes and ears wide open.

(Reviewed June 14, 1996)