by Cathleen A. Cleaver

About the author: Cathleen A. Cleaver is a lawyer and the director of legal studies at the Family Research Council, a conservative national organization devoted to promoting traditional family values.

Anyone awake during January 1996 has heard that CompuServe has blocked 200 pornographic sites from its subscribers worldwide in response to an imminent German prosecution. Some hysterical commentators and technogeeks warn that this action marks the demise of Freedom itself. Other less vocal people quietly hope that CompuServe will make this temporary solution a permanent one.

How Pornography Is Sold on the Internet

Consistent in the public debate over the German situation is a lack of understanding of the basics of the technology and the laws of our country. Fundamental Internet pornography education is long overdue.

Take CompuServe and Germany. Three facts about the German situation...