Hearing on H.R. 1054, the Internet Tax Freedom Act, which was introduced in a bipartisan effort to limit the ability of State & local governments to impose unnecessary & burdensome taxes on the Internet. Witnesses: Wade Anderson, Dir. of Tax Policy, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts; Karl A. Frieden, Sr. Mgr., Arthur Andersen; Michael E. Liddick, Dir. of Taxes, America Online, Inc.; Mark Q. Rhoads, Legislative Dir., U.S. Internet Council; & Hon. Ron Wyden, Senator from Oregon. Also includes material submitted by Grover G. Norquist, Pres., Americans for Tax Reform; & prepared statement of U.S. Telephone Assoc.

Communications giants like Google, Comcast, and AT&T enjoy increasingly unchecked control over speech. As providers of broadband access and Internet search engines, they can control online expression. Their online content restrictions—from obstructing e-mail to censoring cablecasts—are considered legal because of recent changes in free speech law. In this book, Dawn Nunziato criticizes recent changes in free speech law in which only the government need refrain from censoring speech, while companies are permitted to self-regulate. By enabling Internet providers to exercise control over content, the Supreme Court and the FCC have failed to protect the public's right to access a broad diversity of content. Nunziato argues that regulation is necessary to ensure the free flow of information and to render the First Amendment meaningful in the twenty-first century. This book offers an urgent call to action, recommending immediate steps to preserve our free speech rights online.

Witnesses include: Senators Conrad Burns, Byron L. Dorgan, John McCain, and Ron Wyden; Wade Anderson, Director of Tax Policy, Office of the State Comptroller, State of Texas; Representatives Christopher Cox and Rich White; Kendall L. Houghton, general counsel, Committee on State Taxation; Timothy M. Kaine, Richmond city councilman, National League of Cities, Richmond, VA; Linda Rankin, general counsel, Bear Creek Corporation; Lawrence H. Summers, Deputy Secretary, Department of the Treasury; and James Walton, member, Association of Online Professionals.