European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Is Lisa Rivard constitutional quandary by Felix Gutierrez associated press s developments change the Way people communicate in the United states from cellular phones to interactive Cable to some regulators and lawmakers say the Constitution s protections of traditional speech and press need to be restated for the new Media. American police can legally eavesdrop on cellular Telephone conversations even though it would be unlawful to tap the same conversations Over regular phone lines without a court order according to Jeff Cole a professor of communication studies at Urcla. It s also Legal to spy on the phone numbers dialled up by a Home computer. And in Cerritos calif., people Are frustrated by another constitutional quandary. They can t receive a futuristic Cable system that would provide at Home shopping and banking not to mention lots of television channels until it s determined who has a right to install it. We Are going to have to figure out a Way to ensure the first amendment survives the technological revolution said John Kamp the Federal communications commission Public affairs director. In the Cerritos Case an official of the acc which regulates broadcast Media and some Telephone services but not newspapers and magazines recently approved the laying of Cable by the local Telephone company get which won a contract from the City last year. But Cable Industry groups have asked the full acc to review the matter and a decision is expected in the fall said Michael Morris of the California Cable television association. The Industry cites Federal regulations Banning Telephone companies from operating Cable to in cities where they run the phones. The residents Are frustrated said Michele Ogle a spokeswoman for Cerritos an upscale i a Angeles suburb. They would like to see Cable television. The surrounding communities have  some Media experts Are concerned for a different reason. They think the first amendment guaranteeing free speech and press should keep local and Federal governments from deciding who sends or receives information by the new Media. The phone companies like any other citizen enjoy a first amendment right to be speakers said Patrick Maines of the Media Institute in Washington . Cable television should have Little or no regulation at the Federal or local level he said. Maines Institute houses the first amendment Center on the new Media which has filed Legal briefs and comments with courts and the acc in eight cases it feels threaten the first amendment rights of new Media such As Cable television Telephone information services and electronic publishing. Cole of Urcla compared the state of Law and the new Media to the old West where there s no established Law and order anything goes and the biggest Guy with the most Power always  some argue that the first amendment is meant to ensure Many Media voices and that government rules do cordless phones require new Laws to safeguard confidentiality of Consumers encouraging Competition among new Media help meet that goal he said. Letting Telephone companies offer electronic information on their wires could give them an unfair advantage Over potential competitors according to former acc general counsel Henry Geller now head of the Washington Center for Public policy research. I Don t want the phone company to be in Cable television and control 50 channels Geller said. Future fiber optic transmission lines which get would test in Cerritos could become a Highway into the Home carrying Telephone television and text messages he said. Today s new Media blur the lines Between categories lawmakers and judges have used for years. The first amendment was written More than 200 years ago when print was the Only mass medium. The nation s communication act was passed in 1934, when radio and Telephone concerns dominated. It used to be easy to Tell the difference Between newspapers and telephones. Now it s not so easy said the acc s Kamp. Some newspapers Send electronic copies of stories to Home computers Over phone lines. I see no difference Between the Washington Post i pick up at my Doorstep and the Washington Post that comes in on my computer Modem except that i Don t get newsprint Ink on my hands said Ken Alten of the information Industry association a group of 650 companies that see information As their  they new Media should have the same protections that the first amendment provides other information sources said Allen. But he cited cases where information that is put in a new Media suddenly loses Ali of its first amendment  California s legislature this year considered a state constitutional amendment extending state free speech and press protections to computer communications. The Bill passed the state Assembly but was stalled in the Senate after Law enforcement and credit information companies voiced opposition said Bob Jacobson,.a consultant to the Assembly committee. I think the likelihood of All forms of communication having full first amendment rights is the most Likely course Over time said Everette Dennis of the Gannett Center for Media studies in new York. It May take a Long time to happen. But it s an  Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday August 28,1988